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BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 


BONAPARTE'S 


PARK, 


AND 


THE    MURATS. 


E.  M.  WOODWARD, 

AUTHOR   OF 
BORDENTOWN    AND    ENVIRONS;    ThE    OlD    FAMILIES    OF    BuRLINOTON 

CocNTY,  N.  J.;  OcR  Campaigns;  The  Citizen 
Soldiery,  Etc.,  Etc.,  Etc. 


TRENTON,  N.  J.: 

MacCrkLUSH  &  QVIGLET,  GENERAL  BoOK  AITD  JOB  PuilTKBS. 

1879. 


Entered,  according  to  an  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1879,  by 

E.  M.  WOODWARD, 

in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


TO 

MRS.  OLIVER  HOPKINSON, 

WHOSE    EXCELLENT   QUALITIES   OF    THE   HEART   AND    MIND    HAVB 
ENDEARED    HER   TO    MANY   FRIENDS, 

THIS  WORK 

IS  MOST  BESFEOTFULLY   DEDICATED 

BY  THE  AUTHOR. 


2503^^^! 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  1. 

Brief  of  Title — Stephen  Satke — Sketch  op — Is  High  Sheriff  of 
London — Espouses  Independence — Is  Imprisoned — Ruined  Finan- 
cially— Connected  with  European  Legations  —  Returns  to 
America — Purchases  the  Park — His  Descendants — Death. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Joseph  Bonaparte  —  His  Marriage  —  Diplomatic  Connections — De- 
clines the  Crown  of  Lombardy — Accepts  that  of  Naples — His 
Reign  —  Proclaimed  King  of  Spain  —  Fights  for  His  Crown  — 
Wins  and  Loses  It — Counselor  of  the  Empress — Waterloo. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Mailliard's  Account  op  His  Escape  to  America — Courtesy  of  Henry 
Clay  —  His  Residence  in  Philadelphia — Why  He  Located  ik 
Bordentown — Permission  to  Hold  Real  Estate  Granted. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

Joseph's  First  Visit  to  Bordentown  —  His  Agent  Purchases  thh 
Park — First  House  —  Second  House  —  Its  Destruction — Letter 
op  Thanks  to  the  Citizens  —  Description  of  Third  House — Of 
THE  Park — Of  the  Lake — Underground  Passages. 


CHAPTER   V. 

The  Lake  House — His  Wife,  Tributes  to  —  His  Daughter  Zenaidb 
— Sketch  op  Prince  Charles  —  His  Grandchildren  —  His  Daugh- 
ter Charlotte — Sketch  op  Napoleon  Lewis. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Peesonal  Appearance  of  Joseph  —  Interesting  Visit — How  He  En- 
tertained His  Guests. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Description  of  Some  of  His  Paintings  —  Full  List  of  —  Sketch  of 
Cardinal  Fesch  —  Of  Noted  Artists  —  List  op  Marbles  and 
Bronzes — Of  Engravings — Description  of  Venus  Victrix — Op 
His  Furniture. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

The  Count  and  the  Citizens — Reminiscences  of  Bellemere,  Car- 
man, Thorn  and  Wood — His  Household — Judge  Elmer's  Inter- 
esting Account — General  Bernard  —  Dr.  Sprague — The  State 
Survey — Charlotte  and  Captain  Mickle. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

The  Two  Visits  of  La  Fayette — The  Crown  op  Mexico  Offered  to 
Joseph — Visit  of  Louis  Napoleon — Of  a  Family — Their  Opin- 
ion OF  Pauline  —  Sketch  op  Pauline. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Joseph's  Position  in  Regard  to  the  Duke  db  Reichstadt — Decree 
OF  the  French  Senate  —  Revolution  op  1830  —  His  Letter  to 
THE  Chamber  op  Deputies — Visits  England  —  Respect  Paid  to 
Him  on  His  Departure — Revisits  America — Returns  to  Europe 
— Death  —  Extracts  from  His  Will  —  Prince  Joseph — Sale  of' 
THE  Park — Beckett — The  Hamiltons. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

Interesting  Sketch  op  Louis  Mailliabd  —  Recovery  op  the  Buried 
Casket — Joseph's  Remains  Transferred  to  France  —  Adolph 
Mailliard. 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  XII. 
MuRAT,  King  of  the  Sicilies — Prince  Mukat — Settles  near  Bor- 
DENTOWN — Roebuck — Marries  Miss  Fraser — The  Erasers — The 
City  in  the  Air — The  Prince's  Characteristics  —  Madame  Mu- 
rat's  School  —  How  the  Prince  Spent  His  Time — The  Prince 
IN  His  Glory. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Assault  and  Battery — The  Prince's  Amusing  Defence — Generous 
Tradesmen — His  Friends — Revolution  of  1848  —  Return  to 
France  —  Elected  to  the  Assembly  —  Envoy,  Senator,  Prince, 
Soldier  and  Prisoner — The  Princess  Caroline's  Reward  —  Mr. 
Brown's  Visit  —  Murat's  Children  —  Baron  de  Chasseron  and 
Duke  de  Mouchy — Fall  of  the  Empire — Separation  of  Estate — 
Fortunes  Spent  by  the  Prince — His  Sisters — Sketch  of  Napo- 
leon Achillb  Murat — William  Frasbr's  Children. 


INDEX. 


Adams,  President  John   Quincy, 

71. 
Adriansen,  Alexander,  63. 
Allen  E.  S.,  38. 
"      Mrs.,   Colonel   Joseph   W., 

111. 
America  and  Her  Commentators,  Thick- 

erman's,  115. 
American  Cyclopaedia,  Appleton's,  58, 

84,89,  113. 
American  Ornithology,  47. 
Ashburton,  Lord,  34. 

B. 

Bacciochi,  66. 
Bartolini,  66,  67,  90. 
Bassano,  59. 
Bassett,  Miss,  26. 
Bates,  Miss,  115. 
Battle  of  Ocano,  30. 
"      "    Vittoria,  31. 
"      "   irarer/00,31,75,84,96, 104. 
Beasley,  Reverend  Doctor,  105. 
Beckett,  Henry,  93,  94. 

"         Sir  E.  D.,  93. 

"  "    John,  93. 

'<  "    Thomas,  93. 

Beechtr's  Magazine,  36,  74. 
Bellemere.  Philip,  16,  39,  71,  72. 
Berchem,  63. 
Berkeley  Men,  33,  79. 

"        Miss,  51,  52. 


Bernadotte,  King,  27,  66. 

Bernard,  General  Simon,  74,  75> 
76,  77. 

Bibault,  59. 

Biddle,  Nicholas,  48. 

Bingham,  Mr.,  34. 

Bio.  Sketch  of  Joseph  Napoleon  Bona- 
parte, 85,  86,  88. 

Birch,  Jr.,  Thomas,  55. 

Bloemaert,  A.,  61. 

Bogiiet,  60. 

Bonaparte,  Auguste  Amilie  M.  J., 
48. 

Bonaparte,  Camerata,  Princess,  66. 
"  Caroline,  Queen  of  Na- 

ples, 103,  104. 

Bonaparte,  Charles,  66. 

"  Charles  Lucien,  Prince, 

34,45,46,47,72,78,90,91,93. 

Bonaparte,   Charlotte    Honorine 
Josephine,  48. 

Bonaparte,  Charlotte  Julie,  48,  78, 
81. 

Bonaparte,  Eliza,  Princess,  66. 
'*  Frederica    Catharine, 

Princess  of  Wirtemberg,  66. 

Bonaparte,    Hortense,   Queen    of 
Holland,  48,  81. 

Bonaparte,  Jerome,  King,  66,  88, 
89. 

Bonaparte,  Joseph  Lucien  Charles 
Napoleon,  34,  47,  90,  91,  93. 

Bonaparte,   Josephine,    Empress, 
84. 


12 


INDEX. 


Bonaparte,  Julie  C —  Z —  P —  L — 

D—  B.,  47. 
Bonaparte,  Julie  Marie,  Queen  of 

Naples  and  Spain,  27,  96,  98. 
Bonaparte,    Louis,    King,   48,    66, 

78,  89. 

Bonaparte,  Lucien,  King,  28,  29, 
36,  46,  68,  78,  88,  89. 

Bonaparte,   Lucien   Louis  Joseph 
Napoleon,  Cardinal,  47,  91. 

Bonaparte,    Marie    Louise,    Em- 
press, 66,  84. 

Bonaparte,  Marie  D —  E —  J —  P., 
48. 

Bonaparte,  Napoleon   II;   31,  48, 

79,  81,  82,  85,  87,  88. 
Bonaparte,  Napoleon  III;  47,48, 

78,81,88,89,98,  112,  114. 
Bonaparte,  Napoleon  G.  J.  P.,  His 

Highness,  48. 
Bonaparte,  Napoleon  Louis,  Grand 

Duke,  48,  81. 
Bonaparte,  Pauline,  Princess,  53, 

54,  66,  67,  83,  84. 
Bonaparte,  Zenaide,  34,  44,  45,  46, 

47,  72,  78,  90,  91,  93. 
Borden,  Joseph,  23. 

"         Elizabeth,  23. 
Bordentown  Megistsr,  15,  50. 
Borghese,  Prince  Camillo,  66,  83, 

84. 
Bosio,  66,  67. 
Boston  Advertiser,  114. 
Braxton,  Carter,  26. 
Brown,  Wardell,  1 13, 
"        Frances,  115. 
Burivs,  Doctor  William,  26,  38. 

C. 

Cairns,  Mr.,  106. 
Campidoglio,  M.  A.,  63. 
Canaletti,  62. 


Cannon,  Garritt  S.,  50. 

Canova,  66,  67. 

Carman,  A.  D.,  72. 

Carracchi,  A.,  61,  64. 

Carret,  M.,  38. 

Champagne,  Philip  De,  63. 

Chatham,  Earl  of,  24. 

Christ  Church,  Bordentown,  94,  113, 

114. 
Clari,  Marie  Julie,  27,  45. 
"     Eugenie,  27,  28,  45. 
Clay,  Henry,  33,  71. 
Clayton,  John  M.,  76. 
Clauzel,  71. 

Colomba,  Gio  Botta,  60. 
Columbia  Herald,  40.    ' 
Commerce,  Brig,  32. 
Conkling,  T.  H.,  67,  74. 
Courtauldt,  Samuel,  24. 

D. 

Daniels,  Joseph,  116. 
De  Heem,  Cornelius,  61. 
De  la  Hyre,  Laurent,  61. 
Delaistre,  90. 
Del  Gallo,  Marquis,  47. 
De  Marne,  62. 
Delle  Notti,  Gherardo,  61. 
Del  Piombo,  Sebastian,  63. 
Denys,  Simon,  58,  59. 
Desmonettes,  71. 
Dewees,  Doctor,  109. 
Dickerson,  Gov.  Mahlon,  36. 
Diplomatic  Correspondence,  25. 
Douglass,  George,  23. 
"         Joseph,  23. 
Drake's  Die.  Ame.  Biog.,  24. 
Duane,  William,  26. 

"        William  J.,  25,  26. 
Duphor,  General,  28. 
Duponceau,  Captain  Peter  S.,  86. 
Dutch  School,  The,  65. 


INDEX. 


13 


E. 

Ellis,  Edward  S.,  36. 

Elmer,  Judge  L.  Q.  C,  74, 75,  76, 77. 

Espinos,  Benito,  61. 

P. 

Farnsworth,  Thomas,  23,  39. 

Fearon,  Henry  Bradshaw,  36,  39. 

Ferdinand,  King,  46. 

Fesch,  Cardinal,  57,  58,  74,  94. 

Field,  Isaac,  83. 

Flemish  School,  The,  65. 

Foncin'e,  Colonel,  75. 

Foy,  General,  49. 

Franck,  Francis,  62. 

Franklin,  Benjamin,  25. 

Fraser,  Mrs.  Anna  Longton,  105. 

"       Caroline  Georgiana,  105  to 
115. 
Fraser,  Caroline  G.,  115. 

»       Eliza  S.,  106,  113. 

"        Frank  Lucien,  115. 

"       Gulianna,  116. 

"        Harriet,  106. 

"       Jane,  106,  114. 

"        Major,  105. 

"       Maria,  106. 

'*        Martha  Jane,  116. 

"       Thomas,  115. 

"       William,  106,  115,  116, 
Frederick  the  Great,  25. 
French  School,  The,  65. 

Q. 

Gerard,  90. 
Gibbs  Wolcott,  25. 
Giordano,  Luca,  58. 
Girard,  Stephen,  35,  79. 
Godey's  Lady^s  Book,  50. 
Grovevillc,  39,  47,  90,  93. 
Grymes,  Mary,  26. 


Grymes,  Philip  Lightfoot,  26. 
Quido,  64. 
Guercino,  61. 


Hackerto,  Filippo,  63. 
Hamilton,  Gov.  Andrew,  93. 
Helena,  83. 
History  of  the  War  in  Spain,  49. 

"         "        Revolution  of  1S30,  80. 
Ilolcombe,  George,  74. 
Uopkinson,  Judge  Joseph,  92,  95. 
Howard,  Miller,  108. 
Hughes,  Mr.,  74. 
Hunt,  Abraham,  23. 
Hutchinson,  Mahlon,  39. 
"  John  P.,  23. 

I. 

IngersoU,  Charles  J.,  49. 
Italian  School,  The,  64. 

J. 

Jardine,  William,  47. 
Jennings,  Mr.,  33. 
Junot,  Mme.,  45. 

K. 

Kartright,  Charles  E.,  94. 
Kean,  Peter,  74. 


La  Clerc,  General,  84. 
La  Coste,  M.  F.,  67,  74. 

"  Mme.,  74. 

"  Leo,  74. 

Lafayette,  General,  71,  79,  80. 
Lairesse,  Gerard,  62. 
Lallemand,  71. 
Lathrop,  Reverend  John  P.,  114. 


14 


INDEX. 


Lathrop,  Mrs.,  114. 
Lawrence,  64. 
Lebrun,  Chai'les,  63. 
Lee,  Arthur,  25. 

"     Richard  Henry,  24. 

"     "William,  24. 
Lefevre,  Robert,  59. 
JAppineott'' s  Magazine,  48. 
Liverpool,  Lord,  84. 
Louis  Phillippe,  75,  76,  87,  88. 
Louis  XVI,  103. 
Lyle,  Miss,  93. 

M. 

Mailliard,  Adolph,  15,  32,  44,  74, 

91,  92,  99. 
Mailliard,  Louis,  32,  33,  35,  50,  73, 
74,90,91,92,95,96,97,98,99. 
Mansfield,  Lord,  25. 
Marshal  Augereau,  30,  79. 

"         Bazaine,  48,  112. 

"         Bernadotte,  27,  66. 

"  Bessieres,  30. 

"         Jourdan,  30. 

"  Lanne-s  30. 

•'         Las  Casas,  46. 

"         Marmont,  30,  79. 

"  Massena,  30. 

"         Mortier,  30. 

"         Ney,  30. 

"         Soult,  30. 

"         Suchet,  30. 

"  Victor,  30. 

MacKnight,  39,  90. 
Meany,  Captain,  34. 
Metternich,  Prince,  82. 
Meiz,  Prisoner  at,  112. 
Messervey,  Captain,  32. 
Mexico,  Crown  of,  80. 
Mickle,  Captain,  78. 
Miranda,  26. 
Moreau,  General,  36,  71,  80. 


Murat,  Achille,  113. 

"       Anna,  Duchess  de  Monchy, 
113. 

Murat,  Caroline,  Queen  of  Naples, 
103,  104. 

Murat,  Caroline  Georgiana,  Prin- 
cess, 105  to  115. 

Murat,  Caroline,  Countess  de  Chas- 
seron,  113. 

Murat,  Joachim,  King  of  Naples, 
103. 

Murat,  Joseph  Joachim  Napoleon, 
112,  113. 

Murat,  Lucien,  113. 

"       LsRtitia  Josephine,  Count- 
ess Pepoli,  115. 

Murat,    Louise    Julie    Caroline, 
Countess  Rasponi,  115. 

Murat,  Napoleon  Achille,  115. 
"       Prince  Napoleon,  73,  105 
to  115. 

N. 

JVayes,  21,29,  30,  77,  112. 
Natoire,  62,  77. 
Norcross,  William,  111. 
Notioyis  of  the  Americans,  42. 
Nutt,  Miss  Maria  U.,  40,  49,  68, 

106. 
Nye,  Charles  M.,  116. 

O. 

Oscar,  King  of  Sweden,  27,  66. 


Paoli,  Pascal,  27. 
Paret,  63. 

Penn,  Gov.  John,  34. 
Peternerf?,  63. 
Pius,  VI,  28. 
"     IX,  46. 


INDEX. 


15 


rilkington,  59. 

Potts,  William  John,  16,  24,  34,  67. 

Poussin,  Captain,  76. 

"         Caspar,  02,  68. 
Prangins,  95,  96,  97. 
Primole,  Count,  48. 
Princeton  in  the  18th  Century,  24. 

Q. 

Quintin,  Andrew,  80. 
"         Major,  80. 

R. 

Rahl,  Colonel,  23. 
Randal,  Jr.,  John,  74. 
Raphael  Moengs,  55. 
Reed,  General  Joseph,  24. 

"      William  B.,  24,  26. 
Reichstadt,  Duke  de,  81,  82,  88. 
Reinholdt,  George,  38,  39. 
Rembrant,  59. 
Richards,  Thomas,  93. 
Richardson,  Sergeant,  24. 
Itio  Janeiro,  HI, 

Robbins,  Esquire  Edwards,  35. 
Rockford,  Lord,  24,  25. 
Robespierre,  Maximilian,  26. 
Roebuck,  104,  105. 
Rubens,  56. 
Rural  Park,  83. 
Ruysdael,  03. 

s. 

Sabine  s  New  Ynrk  Advertiser,  47. 
Salter,  lion.  Edwin,  109. 
Siirrans,  M.,  80. 
Siivery,  Jacques,  60. 
Say  re,  B.  B.,  26. 

"       Elizabeth,  24,  25,  26. 

"       Stephen,  24,  25,  26,  38. 

"       S.  W.,  25,  26. 


Sayre,  Virginia,  26. 
"       William,  26. 
Schiller^s  dramas,  47. 
Scott,  General  Winfleld,  71. 
Scrihner^s  Magazine,  34. 
Sneyders,  56,  57. 
Snowden,  William,  41. 
Sprague,  Reverend  Doctor,  75. 
Stewart,  Admiral,  36,  71. 
St.  Helena,  46,  75,  79,  82,  84,  87. 
St.  Pierre,  Bernardin  de,  50. 
Stockton,  Commodore,  71,  74. 
Strausbourgh  Insurrection,  81. 
Sullivan,  J.  L.,  75. 
Sunday  Dispatch,  35. 
Swebach,  60. 

T. 

Talleyrand,  28,  79. 
Tenipesta,  Antonio,  59. 
Teniers,  David,  .59. 
Terburgh,  61. 
Thibaud,  Miss,  74,  91,  92. 

"  William,  51,74,90, 91,92. 

Thompson's  His.  of  Long  Island,  24. 
Thorn,  Anthony,  71,  72,  73, 

"         Langhorn,  92. 
Titian,  64. 

Totten,  Lieutenant  Colonel,  75, 77. 
Traveling  Bachelor.  42. 
Treaty  of  Amiens,  29. 

((        K  l\(xnce  and  Austria,  29. 

"       "  France  and  United  States, 
29,  59. 
Treaty,  Joint  against  Barbary,  29. 

"        of  Ghent,  33. 

"        Jay's,  25. 

"        of  Valencay,  46. 

V. 

Vanderlinck,  62. 
I  Van  Eyck,  Caspar,  60. 


16 


INDEX. 


Van  Oss,  62. 
Venus  Victrix,  67. 
Veret  M.,  97. 
Vernet,  Horace,  58. 
"        Joseph,  57,  58. 

W. 

Washington,  z5,  75,  81,  89. 
Webster,  Daniel,  71. 


Wellington,  Duke  of,  67. 

White  Horse  Bridge,  39,  80,  105,  107. 

Wickes,  M.  D.,  Stephen,  24. 

Wilkes,  John,  24. 

Willis  Byrd,  115. 

Wilson,  Alexander,  47. 

"         George,  116. 
Wood,  Sr.,  John,  73. 

"       Thomas,  73. 
Wraxall,  Posthumous  Mem.,  25. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Joseph   Napoleox   Bonaparte,   Kino  of   Naples    and 

Spain,  --.--•---        Frontispiece. 

View   of   the   Park    and   First  Mansion   from   thb 

Hill-top, -       -       -        Page  40 


PREFACE. 


SKETCHES  of  Bonaparte's  Park  have  appeared,  from 
time  to  time,  for  years,  past,  in  various  newspapers  and 
magazines  in  this  country  and  in  Europe.  Passing  by 
those  sensational  writers  who  told  of  sentinels  posted  on 
the  tower,  watching  for  the  appearance  of  an  English, 
Spanish,  or  French  fleet  sailing  up  the  Delaware  river  to 
seize  the  ex-King  and  carry  him  into  captivity ;  of  subter- 
ranean passages,  opening  upon  the  river  bank,  or  ending  in 
deep  and  dark  recesses  of  the  wood,  affording  secret  means 
of  escape  from  pursuers :  we  come  to  a  more  reliable  class 
of  authors,  who  were  disposed  to  deal  in  but  little  romance. 
These  mostly  derived  their  information,  during  short  visits 
to  Bordentown.  from  such  as  by  chance  they  obtained 
access  to,  and,  clothing  their  story  in  proper  language,  gave 
it  to  the  public  as  authentic.  There  are,  however,  many 
deeply  interesting  but  short  sketches,  scattered  through 
numerous  volumes,  written  by  distinguished  visitors  and 
travelers,  that  are  of  much  value. 

Believing  a  perfectly  true  sketch  of  the  Park,  and  of  the 
Murats,  would  be  well  received  by  the  public,  residing  near 
Bordentown,  and  being  well  acquainted  with  its  leading^ 
citizens,  we  prepared  and  published  in  "  The  Register  '*' 
of  that  city,  articles  upon  the  same.  This  led  to  the  detec- 
tion of  some  errors,  and  the  addition  of  much  new  mate- 
rial, kindly  furnished  by  the  citizens  and  correspondents 
in  various  parts  of  the  country.  We  feel  ourselves  under 
many  obligations  to  Mr.  Adolph  Mailliard,  the  son  of  King 
Joseph's    faithful    secretary,    for    deeply    interesting    and 


20  PBEFACE. 

authentic  information  never  before  given  to  the  public ;  to 
Mr.  Bellemere,  a  member  of  his  household,  for  carefully 
going  over  with  us  the  manuscript;  to  William  John  Potts, 
Esq.,  of  Camden,  N.  J.,  for  valuable  extracts  from  various 
works,  and  to  the  many  citizens  of  Bordentown  who  have 
furnished  us  with  their  reminiscences  of  the  Count  and 
his  family.  ^^  ^  ^^ 

Ellisdalk,  Monmouth  Co.,  N.  J., 
August  15th,  1879. 


INTRODUCTION. 


THE  eraigratioa  to  this  country  of  Joseph  Bonaparte,  the 
brother  of  the  great  Napoleon,  who  possessed  success- 
ively the  crowns  of  Naples  and  Spain ;  his  long,  contented 
and  munificent  residence  among  us,  and  the  esteem  enter- 
tained by  all  who  formed  his  acquaintance,  cannot  fail  to 
prove  a  subject  of  deep  interest  to  all,  and  to  awaken  curi- 
osity for  a  long  time  to  come.  By  reason  of  the  renown  of 
the  Emperor,  and  the  part  played  by  Joseph  in  the  great 
drama,  in  which  millions  were  marshalled  in  arms,  thrones 
and  scepters  hurled  to  the  dust,  and  kings  created  at  the 
will  of  one  man,  a  deep  interest  is  attached  to  his  personal 
character  and  career. 

The  opinion,  so  popular,  that  Napoleon  was  the  only 
extraordinary  member  of  the  family,  is  erroneous.  They 
were  all  gifted  by  nature,  each  could  have  achieved  emi- 
nence on  any  road  of  life,  and  the  whole  family  constituted 
the  most  brilliant  and  attractive  group  of  contemporar}' 
kinsmen  we  have  any  knowledge  of.  Joseph's  participa- 
tion in  the  events  of  Europe,  are  lost  sight  of  beside  the 
mighty  deeds  of  his  great  brother.  But  if,  in  the  present 
day,  a  man  existed,  who,  as  a  diplomatist,  soldier  and  king, 
had  distinguished  himself  by  his  wisdom  and  brilliant  qual- 
ities, had  gained  battles  and  worn  two  crowns,  was  distin- 
guished for  his  patriotism,  had  never  broken  faith  with 
friend  or  foe — that  man  would  hold  a  high  place  in  public 
estimation,  and  would  be  called  great. 


BONAPARTE'S  PaRK. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Brief  of  Title — Stephen  Sayre — Sketch  op  —  Is  High  Sheriff  of 
London  —  Espouses  Independence  —  Is  Imprisoned  —  Ruined  Fi- 
nancially—  Connected  with  European  Legations  —  Returns  to 
America — Purchases  the  Park — His  Descendants— His  Death. 

POINT  BREEZE  was  the  name  by  which  a  portion  of  the 
Park  was  formerly  known.  The  "  Point "  was  situated 
on  Crosswicks  creek,  where  the  observatory  stood.  It  was 
part  of  one  of  the  original  tracts  located  by  Thomas  Farns- 
worth,  in  1681,  and,  upon  his  death,  by  will  descended  to 
his  son  John.  Joseph  Borden,  the  founder  of  Bordentown, 
afterwards  purchased  it,  and  from  him  it  passed  to  his  son- 
in-law,  Joseph  Douglass,  who  married  Elizabeth  Borden. 
Joseph,  by  his  will,  dated  September  5th,  1777,  and  proved 
August  15th,  1783,  about  which  time  he  died,  devised  the 
plantation  to  his  son,  George  Douglass.*  George  kept  a 
store  there  during  the  revolutionary  war,  and  offered  for  sale 
"  French  Brandy  in  hogsheads.  Handkerchiefs,  Bohea  Tea, 
Grass  Scythes,  etc."  Being  unfortunate  in  business,  he 
made  an  assignment  to  Abraham  Hunt,  the  rich  merchant 
of  Trenton  (who  entertained  Colonel  Rahl,  the  Hessian 
commander,  at  Christmas  festivities,  the  eve  before  the 
battle  of  Trenton),  and  others  of  New  York,  for  the  ben- 
efit of  his  creditors,  November  6th,  1792.     Hunt,  who  was 


*  We  are  indebted  to  Mr.  John  P.  Hutchinson,  of  Bordentown,  for  the  brietf  of  title 
of  the  Point  Breeze  property. 


24  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

the  active  assignee,  disposed  of  the  real  estate  called  Point 
Breeze,  without  metes,  bounds  or  quantity,  by  his  own  act, 
and  as  attorney  for  the  other  assignees,  to  Samuel  Court- 
auldt,  a  Cuban,  trustee  for  Elizabeth  Sayre,  December 
17th,  1793. 

Stephen  Sayre  was  a  man  of  considerable  ability,  and  for 
a  number  of  years  resided  there.  There  are  several 
biographical  sketches  published  of  him,  one  by  the  late 
William  B.  Reed,  in  his  life  of  his  grandfather.  General 
Joseph  Reed ;  another  in  "  Thompson's  History  of  Long 
Island;"  another  in  "Princeton  in  the  Eighteenth  Century," 
and  another,  and  probably  the  best,  in  "  Drake's  Dictionary 
of  American  Biography."  From  these,  and  notes  furnished 
by  William  John  Potts,  Esq.,  of  Camden,  and  Stephen 
Wickes,  M.  D.,  of  Orange,  New  Jersey,  we  have  compiled 
the  following : 

Stephen  Sayre  was  born  in  South  Hampton,  Long  Island, 
in  1745,  to  which  place  his  ancestors  came  from  Lynn, 
Mass.,  in  1640.  He  visited  England  when  about  thirty 
years  of  age,  where  he  married  an  English  lady  of  rank,  by 
whom  he  acquired  a  handsome  fortune.  His  acquaintance 
became  extensive,  and  this,  with  his  very  popular  manners, 
caused  him  to  be  chosen  High  Sheriff  of  the  city  of  London, 
with  William  Lee,  a  brother  of  Richard  Henry  Lee,  of  Vir- 
ginia, under  the  celebrated  John  Wilkes,  in  1774.  Having 
become  a  banker,  he  was  particularly  in  the  confidence  of 
the  Earl  of  Chatham,  at  a  critical  period.  His  zeal  for  the 
independence  of  his  native  country  was  unmeasured.  In 
October,  1775,  he  was  arrested  on  a  charge  of  high  treason, 
made  against  him  by  a  sergeant  in  the  royal  guards,  named 
Richardson,  also  an  American.  He  charged  Sayre  with 
having  asserted  that  he  and  others  intended  to  seize  the 
King  on  his  way  to  Parliament,  to  take  possession  of  the 
town,  and  to  overturn  the  present  government.  Mr.  Sayre 
was  known  to  be  a  friend  to  the  patriots,  and  on  this  charge 
Lord  Rockford,  one  of  the  secretaries  of  state,  caused  his 


BONAPABTE'S  PARK.  25 

papers  to  be  seized  aud  himself  to  be  arrested.  He  was 
committed  to  the  Tower,  from  which  he  was  released  by 
Lord  Mansfield,  who  granted  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus.  Sub- 
sequently he  was  tried  and  acquitted.  He  prosecuted  Lord 
Eockford  for  seizing  his  papers,  and  the  court  awarded  him 
a  verdict  of  §5,000  damages,  conditioned  upon  his  proving 
his  loyalty  to  the  King.  The  condition  proved  a  bar  to  the 
recovery  of  the  money,  and  he  was  obliged  to  suffer  a  heavy 
pecuniary  loss  in  costs,  besides  the  personal  indignity.  His 
confinement  produced  his  ruin.  His  banking-house  failed, 
he  lost  everything,  and  was  obliged  to  leave  England.  He 
was  employed  by  Dr.  Franklin  upon  several  important  mis- 
sions, and  was  for  some  time  his  private  secretary.  Li  1777 
he  accompanied  Arthur  Lee  on  his  mission  to  the  court  of 
Frederick  the  Great,  and  was  there  at  the  time  of  the  rob- 
bery of  the  American  Legation.*  "Wraxall,  who  was  in 
Berlin  at  the  time,  in  his  "Posthumous  Memoirs,"  attributed 
it  to  the  British  minister.  There  is  extant  a  MS.  narra- 
tive on  the  subject,  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Sayre  himself,  in  the. 
possession  of  William  J.  Buane,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia. 
After  leaving  Berlin,  at  the  time  of- the  first  suggestion  of 
the  project  of  armed  neutrality,  Mr.  Sayre  visited  Copen- 
hagen, Stockholm  and  St.  Petersburg,  and  in  each  of  these 
capitals  procured  ample  supplies  for  the  support  of  Ameri- 
can independence. 

After  the  peace  of  1783,  Mr.  Sayre  and  his  wife,  Elizabeth, 
returned  to  this  country,  with  their  only  son,  Samuel  Wilson 
Sayre,  and  purchased  Point  Breeze,  near  Bordentown,  after- 
wards part  of  the  Bonaparte  Park.  In  1795  he  was  an  active 
opponent  of  the  administration  of  General  Washington,  and 
had  a  large  share  in  the  attacks  on  "  Jay's  Treaty."t 

On  the  28th  of  December,  1801,  the  trustees,  Stephen  and 
Elizabeth  Sayre,  conveyed  Point  Breeze  to  their  son,  Samuel 
Wilson  Sayre,  and  on  the  2d  of  May,  1803,  Samuel  Wilson 


♦Diplomatic  Correspondence  H,  65-79. 
tGibbs  Wolcott,  vol.  1,  page  247. 


26  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

reconveyed  the  property  to  William  Burns,  of  Bordentown, 
in  trust  ibr  his  mother,  Elizabeth  Sayre.  From  that  time 
until  July  2d,  1816,  Stephen  Sayre  and  family  occupied  the 
Park.  He  had  a  race-course  on  part  of  what  is  now  occu- 
pied by  the  shirt  manufacturing  company's  buildings. 
Afterwards,  his  son,  Samuel  "Wilson,  went  to  Virginia, 
where  he  married  a  daughter  of  Philip  Lightfoot  Grymes, 
of  Brandon,  Middlesex  county.  She  died  early,  leaving  one 
daughter,  Mary,  who  married  Carter  Braxton,  and  had 
many  children,  all  daughters.  He  afterwards  married  Vir- 
ginia Bassett,  by  whom  he  had  ten  children.  Four  grew  to 
manhood — two  are  now"  living,  viz. :  Burwell  Bassett  Sayre, 
of  Frankford,  Ky.,  and  Wm.  Sayre,  of  Charleston,  S.  C. 
The  former  has  two  children,  Virginia  and  Elizabeth;  the 
latter  has  one  child.  "  Stephen  Sayre,"  says  Mr.  Read,  "at 
one  time  lived  in  Richmond,  Va.,  where  it  was  understood 
he  was  an  agent  of  Miranda.  He  and  his  wife  died  within 
a  few  hours  of  each  other,  at  an  advanced  age,  at  the  house 
of  their  son,  S.  W.  Sayre,  at  Brandon.  The}'  were  buried 
together,  on  the  estate,  one  funeral  service  being  said  for 
both."  S.  W.  Sayre  died  at  the  same  place,  December, 
1824. 

Mr.  William  Duane,  of  Philadelphia,  found  among  his 
father's  papers  a  pass  permitting  Stephen  Sayre  to  leave 
Paris.  It  was  signed  by  Robespierre  and  the  chiefs  of  the 
French  revolution,  in  red  ink — very  significant  of  the 
bloody  hands  of  the  signers. 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  27 


CHAPTER  11. 

Joseph  Bonaparte  —  His  Marriage  —  Diplomatic  Cokxections — 
Declines  the  Crown  of  Lombardy — Accepts  that  of  Naples — 
His  Reign — Proclaimed  King  of  Spain — Fights  for  His  Crown 
— Wins  and  Loses  it — Counselor  of  the  Empress — Waterloo. 

THE  refuge  in  exile  found  by  Joseph  Bonaparte  in  our 
country,  where  with  benign  philosophy  he  enjoyed  the 
elegant  seclusion  of  a  private  gentleman  so  much  more  than 
he  had  the  cares  and  honors  of  royalty,  and  all  that  pertains 
to  his  personal  character  and  career,  must  for  many  years 
prove  a  subject  of  deep  interest  to  many  readers. 

Joseph  Bonaparte,  the  elder  brother  of  Napoleon,  was 
born  in  the  island  of  Corsica,  in  1768.  He  was  educated  at 
a  college  in  Burgundy,  where  he  completed  his  course  of 
studies  with  great  distinction.  His  predilections  were  to 
follow  a  military  life,  but,  in  obedience  to  the  last  wish  of 
his  father,  he  returned  to  Corsica.  When  the  mighty  era 
of  1789  dawned,  he  embraced  the  cause  of  the  revolution 
with  ardor,  the  Bonaparte  brothers  being  among  its  most 
eager  partisans.  In  1792  Joseph  received  an  appointment 
in  the  civil  service,  under  the  celebrated  Paoli.  The  fol- 
lowing year  Corsica  renounced  France,  the  English  took 
possession  of  the  island,  and  the  Bonaparte  family  fled  to 
Marseilles,  where  Joseph  received  an  appointment  as  com- 
missary of  war. 

In  1794,  when  he  was  dependent  on  his  salary  for  sup- 
port, he  married  Julie,  daughter  of  M.  Clari,  one  of  the 
richest  capitalists  of  Marseilles.  Her  sister  Eugenie  mar- 
ried Marshal  Bernadotte,  afterwards  King  of  Sweden,  and 
became  the  mother  of  King  Oscar.  Joseph  accompanied 
his  brother.  General  Bonaparte,  as  a  commissary  of  war,  in 
his  Italian  campaign,  and  was  sent  by  him  to  demonstrate 
to  the  Directory  at   Paris  the   necessity  of  concluding  a 


28  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

treaty  of  peace  with  the  King  of  Sardinia.  The  same  year, 
1796,  and  the  riext  year,  Joseph  was  a  member  of  the 
Council  of  Five  Hundred.  Soon  after,  he  was  appointed  by 
the  Director}'  minister  plenipotentiary,  and  subsequently 
envoy  extraordinarj-,  to  the  court  of  Rome,  to  open  import- 
ant negotiations  with  his  Holiness  Pope  Pius  VI.  The 
treaty  was  in  progress,  but  the  intrigues  of  the  Austrian 
party,  and  the  imprudence  of  the  Republicans  of  Rome, 
who  relied  upon  French  countenance  and  support  to  enable 
them  to  eftect  a  revolution  in  the  city,  dei'eated  it.  An 
attempt  to  inaugurate  a  revolution  was  made  December 
28th,  1707,  a  few  of  the  populacy  were  shot  by  the  Pope's 
troops,  in  the  court-yard  of  the  palace  of  the  French  ambas 
sador,  and  General  Duphor,  one  of  Joseph's  suite,  was  killed 
at  his  side.  The  General  was  to  have  been  married  to 
Eugenie  Clari,  Joseph's  sister-in-law,  subsequently  Queen 
of  Sweden. 

The  Directory  at  Paris,  through  Talleyrand,  expressed  to 
Joseph  that  they  were  well  satisfied  with  "  the  courage,  the 
judgment  and  the  presence  of  mind  which  he  had  shown  on 
the  trying  occasion,  and  the  magnanimity  with  which  he 
had  supported  the  honor  of  the  French  name."  The  gov- 
ernment then  offered  him  the  embassy  to  Prussia,  but,  being 
a  member  of  the  Council  of  Five  Hundred,  he  declined. 

In  the  Council  he  was  distinguished  for  sound  sense  and 
moderation.  On  one  occasion,  when  the  Directory,  through 
a  joint  committee,  made  an  attack  upon  Napoleon,  who  was 
then  in  Egypt,  Joseph  defended  him  with  so  much  energy 
and  ability  that  his  accusers  were  confounded,  and  a  unan- 
imous vote  was  obtained  in  his  favor.  A  few  days  after- 
wards he  was  appointed  secretary  of  the  Council  of  Five 
Hundred.  One  who  was  well  acquainted  with  him  at  this 
time  describes  him  as  "  polite  and  afilible,  of  a  cool  and 
steady  disposition,  sagacious,  intrepid,  and  peculiarly  qual- 
ified for  civil  and  diplomatic  emploj-ments."  His  brother 
Lucien,  president  of  the  Council  of  Five  Hundred,  says  that 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  29 

Joseph  possessed  the  esteem  and  friendship  of  his  colleagues, 
and  it  was  supposed  that,  in  concert  with  Lucien,  he  pre- 
pared the  return  of  Napoleon  from  Egypt;  and  it  is  certain 
that  by  his  influence  and  personal  exertions,  he  contributed 
to  the  success  of  the  revolution  of  the  18th  Brumaire — 9th 
November,  1799. 

Under  the  Consulate,  Joseph  was  a  member  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  State,  and  in  1800  he  was  appointed  to  settle  the 
differences  between  France  and  the  United  States,  which 
terminated  in  a  treaty  in  1800.  In  1801  he  signed  the 
treaty  between  France  and  Austria.  He  negotiated  the 
treaty  of  Amiens  in  1802,  and  put  on  foot  the  joint  action 
of  France,  England,  Spain  and  Holland,  by  which  the  dis- 
graceful system  of  rapine  and  piracy  of  the  corsairs  of  Bar- 
bary  was  suppressed.  In  1803  he  was  created  a  Senator  and 
a  member  of  the  Grand  Council  of  the  Legion  of  Honor. 
He  signed  the  concordat  with  the  court  of  Rome,  and  the 
guarantee  treaty  with  Austria,  Russia,  Prussia  and  Bavaria. 
At  Boulogne,  in  1804,  he  commanded  the  fourth  regiment. 
Napoleon  being  proclaimed  Emperor,  the  Senate  declared 
Joseph  and  his  children  heirs  of  the  throne,  on  failure  of 
issue  of  Napoleon.  In  the  same  year  he  declined  the  crown 
of  Lombardy,  refusing  to  enter  into  engagements  which 
appeared  to  press  hard  upon  that  nation. 

During  the  campaign  of  Austerlitz  he  remained  in  the 
direction  of  afiairs  at  Paris.  Soon  after  that  battle  he  was 
placed  in  command  of  the  army  sent  for  the,  conquest  of  the 
kingdom  of  Naples.  In  February,  1806,  he  entered  that 
kingdom  at  the  head  of  40,000  troops,  and  soon  after  his 
brother  conferred  upon  him  the  crown,  he  still  remaining 
Grand  Elector  and  a  Prince  of  France.  Joseph,  however, 
was  forced  to  obtain  his  crown  with  his  sword.  Being  suc- 
cessful, his  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  kingdom  was 
at  once  wise,  liberal  and  vigorous.  Being  an  Italian,  he 
understood  the  prejudices,  sympathies  and  wants  of  the 
people,  and,  as  far  as  the  circumstances  of  his  accession  to 


30  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

the  throne  would  admit,  won  the  good  will  of  his  subjects. 
His  reign  over  Naples  lasted  about  two  years  and  a  half. 

In  1808,  at  the  desire  of  his  brother  and  the  discontented 
nobles  of  Spain,  he  accepted  with  great  reluctance  the  crown 
of  that  nation,  but  not  until  he  had  obtained  from  the 
Emperor  a  guarantee  that  the  constitution  of  Naples,  which 
was  in  a  great  measure  a  summary  of  his  own  most  import- 
ant laws,  should  be  preserved.  The  accession  of  Joseph  to 
the  throne  of  Spain  was  formally  recognized  by  all  the  pow- 
ers of  Europe  except  England.  A  desperate  struggle  for 
the  possession  and  maintenance  of  his  crown  ensued,  which 
lasted  as  long  as  he  possessed  it.  Supported  by  a  French 
army  of  270,000  men,  and  an  auxiliary  Spanish  force,  com- 
manded by  the  great  soldiers,  Marshals  Soult,  Massena, 
Ney,  Jourdan,  Bessieres,  Lannes,  Mortier,  Victor,  Mar- 
mont,  Augereau  and  Suchet,  and,  for  a  time,  by  the 
Emperor  in  person,  for  four  years  and  a  half  he  contended 
against  England  and  her  gold,  Spain  and  Portugal.  Enter- 
ing Madrid,  he  scattered  his  gold  in  the  streets,  which  was 
picked  up  by  the  French  soldiers.  Upon  his  coronation  he 
threw  open  the  theatres  to  the  public,  which  were  thronged 
by  the  French.  His  saloons  were  crowded  with  his  suite, 
and  French  officers.  His  courtiers  were  the  discontented, 
ambitious  or  avaricious  Spanish  nobles.  It  is  true,  he  in 
person  commanded  at  the  victory  of  Ocana,  and  planned 
and  executed  the  brilliant  campaign  of  Andalusia,  yet 
Joseph,  though  a  king,  in  point  of  power  was  the  mere 
shadow  of  what  a  king  ought  to  be.  The  French  minister 
of  war  at  Paris  corresponded  directly  with  chiefs  of  the 
various  armies  in  Spain,  and  orders  for  their  movements, 
whether  to  retrograde  or  advance,  were  frequently  issued 
by  him.  The  haughty  military  chiefs  acknowledged  no 
authority  beside  the  Emperor,  and  listened  to  no  commands 
that  conflicted  with  those  from  Paris.  At  last  the  Emperor 
issued  a  decree,  instituting  military  governments  in  the 
provinces  of  Spain.     Joseph,  actuated  by  a  proper  spirit,  in 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  31 

a  letter  to  his  brother,  announced  his  determination  to  leave 
the  country  if  the  system  of  military  governments  was  not 
abandoned.  He  proceeded  in  person  to  Paris,  where  he  had 
an  interview  with  his  brother,  but  was  induced  by  him  to 
return  to  Madrid.  The  situation  of  the  Emperor  w^as  then 
so  complicated  and  critical  (the  war  with  Russia  being  about 
to  open)  that  he  could  not  yield  to  the  wishes  of  the  King. 
The  allies  in  the  Peninsula  prosecuted  the  war  with  renewed 
vigor,  the  iatal  battle  of  Vittoria  was  fought,  and  the  reign 
or  career  of  Joseph  in  Spain  was  ended,  after  four  years  and 
a  half  of  struggle. 

Joseph  returned  to  Paris,  where,  during  the  Emperor's 
absence  at  the  head  of  the  army  in  Russia,  he  remained  in 
command  of  the  capital  and  acted  as  counselor  of  the 
Empress.  When  the  allied  armies  arrived  under  the  walls 
of  Paris,  Joseph,  who  had  done  all  in  his  power  to  rally  the 
nation,  by  instructions  from  the  Emperor,  retired  with  the 
Empress,  his  young  son  the  King  of  Rome,  and  some  of  the 
grand  dignitaries  of  the  empire,  to  Blois.  Napoleon  abdi- 
cated at  Fontainbleau.  Joseph  retired  to  Switzerland, 
where  he  remained  with  his  family  until  the  return  of  the 
Emperor  from  Elba,  in  March,  1815,  when  he  met  him  and 
accompanied  him  to  Paris. 

At  Waterloo,  amid  defeat  and  carnage,  w^ent  down  for- 
ever the  sun  of  Napoleon.  Joseph  retired  to  America, 
where  he  originally  expected  to  join  his  brother,  whom  he 
left  at  the  Isle  d'Aix,  making  arrangements  for  his 
departure  to  the  New  World.  Fate  disposed  of  him  differ- 
ently, but  Joseph  remained  in  France  until  after  he  knew 
the  Emperor  had  left  it. 


32  BONAPARTE'S  PARK 


CHAPTER  in. 

Mailliard's  Account  of  His  Escape  to  America — Courtesy  of  Hexry 
Clay — His   Residence    in   Philadelphia — Why    He   Located  at 

BORDENTOWN — PERMISSION  TO  HoLD  ReAL  EsTATE  GrANTED. 

THE  following  deeply  interesting  account,  never  before 
given  to  the  public,  of  the  escape  of  King  Joseph  from 
France,  and  his  voyage  to  America,  was  communicated  to 
the  author  by  Adolph  Mailliard,  of  San  Eafael,  California, 
the  son  of  Louis  Mailliard,  the  devoted  secretary  and  most 
confidential  friend  of  the  ex-King : 

"A  few  hours  before  embarking  on  the  French  brig 
which  was  to  take  him  to  the  United  States,  Joseph  sent 
Mailliard  to  the  Emperor,  with  a  letter  urging  again  his 
brother  to  exchange  places  and  make  his  escape  from 
France  in  Joseph's  vessel.  But  Napoleon  replied  verbally 
to  the  messenger :  '  Tell  my  brother  that  I  have  well  con- 
sidered his  offer,  and  that  I  cannot  accept  it.  It  would  seem 
like  flying  away  from  danger;  besides,  I  could  not  leave 
behind  me  so  many  brave  officers,  who  have  sacrificed 
everything  for  me.  Tell  my  brother  that  I  hope  he  will 
escape  the  cruisers  of  England,  and  arrive  safely.' 

"  Joseph,  on  receiving  this  last  answer,  sailed  immediately 
for  America.  Had  Napoleon  accepted,  he  would  probably 
have  reached  New  York  safely,  as  every  precaution  had 
been  taken  to  avoid  detection.  The  vessel  selected  was  a 
small,  common-looking  brig,  the  '  Commerce,'  of  200  tons, 
loaded  with  a  cargo  of  Bordeaux  wines  for  a  market.  She 
was  a  fast  sailer,  and  was  strongly  built,  and  was  com- 
manded by  a  skilful  captain,  Messervey,  a  Swede  by  birth. 
Although  three  times  on  the  high  seas  the  brig  was  stopped 
and  searched  by  English  frigates,  which  were  on  the  look- 
out for  Napoleon,  the  passports  and  papers  of  the  passengers 
on  board  had  been  so  carefully  prepared  under  fictitious 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  83 

names,  that  they  were  not  discovered.  The  captain  of  the 
brig  did  not  even  know  who  they  were  until  a  few  days 
after  Joseph  had  landed  in  New  York. 

"  The  newspapers  having  published  an  account  of  his  suc- 
cessful escape,  and  given  the  name  of  the  vessel,  the  poor 
captain  could  hardly  contain  himself,  and  called  at  once  on 
Louis  Mailliard,  who  assured  him  that  it  was  true,  and  pre- 
sented him,  in  all  formality,  to  King  Joseph.  '  But  why  did 
you  not  tell  me  ?'  said  he,  '  I  never  would  have  betrayed 
him.'  Mailliard  had  to  explain  to  him  that  it  was  thought 
best  to  conceal  the  real  names  and  positions  of  his  passen- 
gers, for  fear  that  he  might  have  shown  scmo  hesitation  or 
less  assurance  when  boarded  by  the  English  officers.  '  I 
think  you  were  right,'  said  the  captain;  'I  would  have  sunk 
my  vessel  rather  than  let  them  come  on  board ;  yoM  were 
right!'  Joseph  was  much  amused  by  his  demonstration  of 
Bonapartism,  and  sent  him  a  very  handsome  present,  to 
show  that  he  had  appreciated  his  treatment  on  board." 

''The  Napoleon  Dynasty;  or,  the  History  of  the  Bona- 
parte Family,"  by  "  The  Berkeley  Men,"  on  pages  385  and 
386,  thus  says  of  Joseph's  entry  into  this  country: 

"  On  his  arrival  at  New  York  he  found  all  the  hotels 
thronged  with  guests;  Mr.  Jennings,  of  the  City  Hotel,  told 
him  that  he  had  given  his  last  suite  of  rooms  to  Mr.  Clay, 
who  had  just  returned  from  the  mission  to  negotiate  the 
treaty  of  Ghent.  When  Mr.  Clay  heard"  of  the  circum- 
stance he  immediately  introduced  Joseph  to  his  apartments; 
and  as  they  entered  the  room  where  dinner  for  Mr.  Clay's 
party  had  been  provided,  the  American  statesman  said, 
*  And  here  is  a  dinner  ready  for  yourself  and  your  suite.'' 
The  courteous  offer  was  accepted,  and  an  acquaintance  so 
pleasantly  begun  ever  after  continued." 

Soon  after  Joseph's  arrival  in  America  he  appears  to  have 
fixed  upon  Philadelphia  as  his  place  of  residence.     We  are 
under  the  impression  the  first  house  he  occupied  in  that 
3 


34  BONAPARTE'S  PAIiK. 

city,  was  on  the  west  side  of  Ninth  street,  corner  of  a  small 
private  street  or  alley,  above  Spruce.  Tliis  house,  of  brick 
and  rough-cast,  is  of  a  peculiar  construction,  with  an 
entrance  on  the  side,  in  the  alley-way.  Mr.  William  John 
Potts's  grandmother,  now  aged  81,  says  it  was  built  for  a 
Captain  Meany,  and  that  Joseph  Bonaparte  was  the  second 
occupant  of  it.  Afterwards  it  was  a  club-house,  and  is  still 
standing.  Joseph  also  resided  in  the  house  now  known  as 
the  "  Bingham  Hotel,"  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Eleventh 
and  Market  streets.  This  building,  however,  has  been  sev- 
eral times  altered  and  rebuilt.  Prince  Charles  and  his 
wife,  Zenaide,  resided  there  with  him,  and  his  grandson, 
Joseph  Lucien  Charles  Napoleon,  was  born  there,  Febru- 
ary 13th,  1824. 

"Scribner's  Monthly"  for  January,  1871,  contains  an  arti- 
cle entitled  "Fairmount  Park."  On  page  230,  it  says :  "  Far- 
ther on,  above  'Egglestield,'  is  '  Sweetbrier,'  and  beyond 
it  'Landsdowne,'  which,  perhaps,  of  all  the  historical  places 
in  the  park,  possesses  most  interest  to  the  general  public. 
This  was  the  magnificent  residence  of  John  Penn,  the  last 
colonial  governor  of  Pennsylvania.  *  *  At  the  close  of 
the  revolution  they  were  purchased  by  Mr.  Bingham,  grand- 
father of  the  late  Lord  Ashburton,  and  subsequently  were 
the  residence  of  Joseph  Bonaparte,  ex-King  of  Spain  and 
Count  de  Survilliers.  Landsdowne  is  described  by  many 
of  the  older  residents  of  Philadelphia  as  a  regal  place.  The 
house  was  spacious  and  palatial,  the  grounds  were  laid  out 
in  winding  walks  and  diversified  with  open  spaces  of  clean, 
green  sward,  and  magnificent  groves  of  majestic  trees. 
Here  and  there  were  large  green-houses,  filled  with  rare 
flowers  and  tropical  fruits.  In  the  rear  of  the  house  was 
a  stable  of  grand  proportions.  *  *  In  the  adjacent  glen 
was  an  elegant  bath-house." 

After  Joseph  settled  at  Bordentown,  he  rented  of  the  city 
of  Philadelphia  one  of  the  then  elegant  houses  of  the  Girard 
Trust  Fund,  in  Girard  row,  Chestnut  street,  below  Twelfth. 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  35 

This  he  occupied  for  years,  as  a  city  residence.  Before  the 
houses  were  built,  Joseph  wished  to  purchase  tlie  ground, 
and  the  following  anecdote  in  regard  to  it  is  copied  from 
the  "  Sunday  Dispatch"  of  that  city,  of  January  28th,  1877: 
"  One  day  at  a  dinner  given  to  Girard  by  the  Count  de  Sur- 
villiers — which  was  the  ex-King's  title  in  this  country — the 
subject  was  broached  and  the  Count  offered  to  pay  Girard 
any  fair  price  he  would  ask.  Girard  said,  'Well,  now  what 
will  you  give  ?  What  do  you  consider  a  fair  price  V  '  I'll 
tell  you,'  said  the  Count,  '  I  will  cover  the  block  from  Elev- 
.enth  to  Twelfth,  and  from  Chestnut  to  Market  streets,  with 
silver  half  dollars !'  Girard,  who  was  sipping  his  soup  at 
the  time,  balanced  his  spoon  for  a  second  on  the  end  of  his 
finger,  and,  with  a  calculating  look  out  of  his  one  eye,  said 
very  slowly,  '  Yes,  Mous.  Le  Count — if  you  will  stand  them 
up  edgeways.'*  The  bargain  was  not  closed."  The  writer 
adds :  "  The  above  is  strictly  true.  I  have  it  from  one  of 
the  King's  household,  still  living  in  this  city." 

For  some  time  after  the  Count's  arrival  in  this  country 
he  traveled  extensively  through  its  different  sections,  but 
we  are  under  the  impression,  more  with  a  view  to  obtain  a 
correct  idea  of  it  than  to  select  a  spot  to  settle  on.  It  is 
well  known  that  some  years  prior  to  the  final  abdication  of 
Napoleon,  the  contingency  of  his  being  forced  to  abandon 
France  and  seek  refuge  in  America,  sometimes  presented 
itself  to  his  mind.  The  late  Esquire  Edward  Eobbins  stated 
to  the  author  that  Louis  Mailliard  related  to  him,  that  once 
when  the  Emperor  was  speaking  upon  this  subject  in  pres- 
ence of  Joseph  and  some  of  his  officers,  he  unrolled  a  map 
of  the  United  States,  and  placing  his  finger  upon  a  spot  in 
New  Jersey,  said,  in  substance:  "If  I  am  ever  forced  to  fly- 
to  America,  I  shall  settle  somewhere  between  Philadelphia. 

♦This  may  indicate  the  value  Mr.  Girard  then  set  upon  this  square  of  ground. 
By  his  will,  dated  February  16th,  1830,  he  directed  the  college  subsequently  erected  at 
"Peel  Hall,"  in  the  northern  section  of  the  city,  to  be  built  in  the  centre  of  this 
square. — Arguments  of  the  Deft'a  counsel,  etc.,  Phila.,  1844,  pages  291  and  307. 


B6  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

and  New  York,  where  I  can  receive  the  earliest  intelligence 
from  France  by  ships  arriving  at  either  port."  This  idea 
probably  governed  the  Count  in  his  location. 

Henry  Bradshaw  Fearon,  an  Englishman  traveling  in  the 
United  States,  published  a  narrative  of  his  travels.  In  the 
third  edition  of  this  book,  printed  in  London  in  1819,  page 
132,  the  author  says,  under  date  of  October  2d,  1817 :  "In 
the  evening  I  arrived  at  Trenton,  which  is  the  capital  of 
New  Jersey.  General  Moreau's  stables  are  still  standing  in 
this  neighborhood.  His  dwelling-house  was  consumed  by 
fire.  King  Joseph  loas  negotiating  for  a  house  here,  in 
anticipation  of  his  brother  Lucien's  arrival ;  the  price  was 
to  have  been  $30,000."  In  "Beecher's  Magazine"  for 
1870,  in  a  sketch  of  Admiral  Stewart,  it  is  stated  the  admi- 
ral induced  Joseph  Bonaparte  to  select  Bordentown  as  his 
place  of  residence.  In  a  letter  to  the  author,  Edward  S. 
Ellis,  Esq.,  the  author  of  that  sketch,  says:  "It  was  Stewart 
himself  who  told  me  that  Bonaparte  was  inclined  to  settle 
somewhere  else,  and  he  (the  commodore)  urged  him  to 
come  to  Bordentown.  I  think  he  arranged  to  come  to 
Trenton,  or  some  other  point  (near  by),  when  the  parties 
with  whom  he  was  negotiating  suddenly  raised  their  price, 
and  he,  becoming  disgusted,  drew  off." 

In  1816  the  Count  applied  to  the  legislature  of  New  Jer- 
sey for  permission  to  hold  real  estate,  without  becoming 
naturalized.  That  body,  duly  appreciating  his  position  in 
relation  to  France,  and  the  honorable  motives  which  actu- 
ated him,  after  due  consideration  complied  with  his  request. 
A  copy  of  the  act  was  sent  to  him  by  Governor  Mahlon 
Dickerson,  accompanied  by  a  courteous  note,  dated  28th 
January,  1817.  In  1825  the  state  of  New  York  granted 
him  the  same  privilege.  It  is  said  a  similar  application  to 
the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania  was  refused. 

King  Joseph  of  Spain,  settling  in  our  state,  and  building 
the  magnificent  dwellings,  which  he  adorned  with  rare 
paintings,  statuary,  etc.,  and  spending  his  money  with  great 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  37 

profusion,  through  jealousy,  caused  persons  residing  in 
neighboring  states  to  call  New  Jersey  "  Spain,"  and  Jersey- 
men  "Spaniards."  The  terras  thus  jokingly  applied  have 
come  down  long  after  their  origin  has  been  forgotten, 
except  by  a  few  men  of  the  past  generation. 


38  BONAPABTE'iS  PARK. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Joseph's  First  Visit  to  Bordentown — His  Agent  Purchases  the 
Park — First  House — Second  House — Its  Destruction — Letter 
OF  Thanks  to  the  Citizens — Description  of  Third  House — Op 
THE  Park — Of  the  Lake — Underground  Passages. 

IX  the  spring  of  1816,  as  Doctor  William  Burns,  who  had 
been  a  surgeon  in  the  British  army  during  our  revolu- 
tionary war,  and  who  subsequently  settled  at  Bordentown, 
was  returning  from  White  Hill,  he  was  accosted  in  French 
by  two  gentlemen  riding  in  a  close  carriage.  They  made 
inquiries  as  to  what  land  was  for  sale  in  the  neighborhood. 
As  the  Doctor  held  a  deed  of  trust  for  Point  Breeze,  and 
knew  Mr.  Sayre  wished  to  dispose  of  it,  he  entered  the  car- 
riage and  drove  with  them  to  the  Point,  and  presented  them 
to  Mr.  Sayre.  The  stranger  proved  to  be  Joseph  Bonaparte, 
accompanied  by  Mr.  Garret,  who  had  come  from  Philadel- 
phia in  search  of  a  place  to  locate.* 

Shortly  afterwards  James  Garret,  as  agent  of  Joseph 
Bonaparte,  commenced  buying  what  was  afterwards  the 
extensive  park  near  Bordentown.  Taking  the  title  in  his 
own  name,  on  the  27th  day  of  August,  1816,  he  executed  a 
declaration  of  trust,  as  follows :  "  That  he  bought  the  prop- 
erty as  the  friend  and  agent  of  Joseph  Buonaparte,  Gount  de 
Survilliers,  and  that  he  would,  at  any  time,  on  demand  made 
for  that  purpose,  convey  any  or  all  the  tracts  so  purchased, 
to  any  person  designated  by  the  said  Joseph  Buonaparte." 
On  the  10th  of  April,  1817,  an  indenture  tripartite  was 
executed  by  Joseph  Bonaparte,  James  Garret  and  G.  Rein- 
holdt,  by  which  the  title  in  tlie  said  lands  was  vested  in 
George  Reinholdt.  The  legislature  of  New  Jersey  having 
passed   an   act    enabling  Joseph   Bonaparte   to   hold    real 

*E.  S.  Allen,  Bordentown. 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK,  39 

estate,  the  said  George  Reinholdt,  by  indenture,  conveyed 
all  the  tracts  of  land  to  Joseph. 

The  Count's  real  estate  in  America  consisted  of  land, 
divided  into  ten  farms,  on  the  border  of  Crosswicks  creek, 
extending  up  to  opposite  the  village  of  Groveville,  and  a 
park  of  about  one  thousand  acres.*  This  park,  known  as 
Bonaparte's  Park,  is  situated  on  the  elevated  plateau  of 
Bordentown,  on  the  south  side  of  the  creek,  and  extends 
from  its  confluence  vvith  the  Delaware  to  the  White  Horse 
bridge,  more  than  a  mile  above.  It  is  bounded  on  the  south 
by  the  Trenton  road,  and  is  enclosed  by  a  high  picket  fence. 
It  was  at  once  improved  by  the  erection  of  numerous  stately 
buildings,  the  laying  out  of  several  miles  of  carriage-drives, 
and  the  planting  of  many  trees.  A  large,  substantial  frame 
building  stood  in  the  park  when  purchased,  which  the 
Count  for  some  time  occupied.  This  he  sold  to  Mr. 
M'Knight,  who  removed  it  to  the  eastern  side  of  Farns- 
worth  avenue,  north  of  Park  street,  where  it  was  rebuilt, 
and  is  now  the  handsome  residence  of  Mahlon  Hutchinson, 
Esq.  The  lirst  mansion  built  by  the  Count  was  immediately 
back  of  the  main  entrance,  near  the  edge  of  the  bluft"  that 
overhangs  the  creek.  From  the  cellar  was  a  bricked  under- 
ground passage-way,  some  ten  feet  wide  and  fifty  feet  long, 
leading  to  the  side  of  the  bluft".  From  its  entrance  to  the 
creek  was  an  inclined  plane  of  easy  ascent,  and  of  about  the 
same  length.  During  the  burning  of  this  building,  nearly 
all  the  })ipes  of  wine  and  casks  of  liquor  in  the  cellar  were 
rolled  down  this  passage-way  into  the  creek,  and  saved. 
Mr.  Fearon,  tiie  English  traveler  before  quoted,  in  contin- 
uation says :  "At  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  we  recom- 
menced our  journey  for  Philadelphia.  Joseph  Bonaparte's 
house  is  situated  on  the  Jersey  banks  of  the  river  Delaware; 
in  appearance  it  is  equal  to  a  moderate  English  country 

*The  last  will  of  Joseph  Bonaparte,  a  true  copy  of  which  is  now  in  tke  possession 
of  Philip  Beltemere,  of  Bordentown,  one  of  the  Count's  household. 


40  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

seat.  He  is  said  to  have  V  ought  it  for  ?ilO,OOD,  and  to  have 
laid  out  §20,000  more  in  having  it  completed  in  a  splendid 
style.  At  present  he  is  from  home,  having  gone  to  view 
Niagara  Falls.  His  associates  are  French  gentlemen,  but 
he  is  easy  of  access,  and  appears  to  participate  in  the  inter- 
ests of  the  country." 

The  Count's  mansion  was  consumed  by  fire  on  the  3d  of 
January,  1820.  The  following  account,  copied  from  the 
"  Columbia  Herald,"  a  weekly  newspaper  published  at 
Woodbury,  N.  J.,  and  taken  from  the  "  Trenton  Federal " 
at  the  time,  is  interesting : 

"  Wednesday,  January  13,  1820. 
"  On  the  3d  inst.  the  elegant  mansion  of  Joseph  Bona- 
parte, at  Point  Breeze,  near  Bordentown,  in  this  state,  acci- 
dentally took  fire  and  was  destroyed.  The  fire  is  said  to 
have  originated  in  one  of  the  upper  rooms,  and  broke  out 
between  one  and  two  P.  M.  Many  articles  of  furniture, 
and  of  the  ornaments  and  paintings,  we  understand  were 
saved  through  the  exertions  of  the  domestics  and  neighbors. 
The  proprietor  was  in  this  town  (Trenton)  when  the  fire 
broke  out,  on  his  return-  from  a  visit  to  ITew  York,  and 
reached  Point  Breeze  in  the  midst  of  the  conflagration. 
The  walls  of  the  two  wings,  which  were  of  brick,  we  are 
informed,  are  standing.  The  middle  building,  which  was 
of  frame,  was  of  course  destroyed;" 

Miss  Maria  H.  l!^utt,  of  Bordentown,  in  speaking  of  the 
fire,  states :  "  The  house  was  burned  down  through  the 
carelessness  of  a  gentleman  whom  the  Count  entertained, 
who  went  off'  to  Philadelphia  and  left  a  wood  fire  burning 
in  his  bed-chamber,  and  locked  the  door,  taking  the  key 
with  him.  The  ladies  of  Bordentown  turned  out  with  their 
leathern  fire-buckets,  passed  water  up  and  down  long  lines, 
as  the  manner  of  those  days  was,  to  assist  in  putting  out 
the  fire." 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  41 

The  Count  returned  his  thanks  to  the  citizens,  in  the  fol- 
lowing letter  to  one  of  the  magistrates  of  the  town  : 

"  Point  Breeze,  January  8th,  1820. 
"To  "William  Snowden,  Esq.,  Bordentown,  N.  J.: 

"  Sir — You  have  shown  so  much  interest  for  me  since  I 
have  been  in  this  country,  and  especially  since  the  event  of 
the  3d  inst.,  that  I  cannot  doubt  it  will  aftbrd  you  pleasure 
to  make  known  to  your  fellow-citizens  how  much  I  feel  all 
they  did  for  me  on  that  occasion.  Absent  myself  from  my 
house,  they  collected,  by  a  spontaneous  movement,  on  the 
first  appearance  of  the  fire,  which  they  combated  with 
united  courage  and  perseverance ;  and  when  they  found  it 
was  impossible  to  extinguish  it,  exerted  themselves  to  save 
all  the  flames  had  not  devoured  before  their  arrival  and 
mine. 

"All  the  furniture,  statues,  pictures,  money,  plate,  gold, 
jewels,  linen,  books,  and  in  short,  everything  that  was  not 
consumed,  has  been  most  scrupulously  delivered  into  the 
hands  of  the  people  of  my  house.  In  the  night  of  the  fire, 
and  during  the  next  day,  there  were  brought  to  me,  by 
laboring  men,  drawers,  in  which  I  have  found  the  proper 
quantity  of  pieces  of  money,  and  medals  of  gold,  and  val- 
uable jewels,  which  might  have  been  taken  with  impunity. 
This  event  has  proved  to  me  how  much  the  inhabitants  of 
Bordentown  appreciate  the  interest  I  have  always  felt  for 
them ;  and  shows  that  men  in  general  are  good,  when  they 
have  not  been  perverted  in  their  youth  by  a  bad  education; 
when  they  maintain  their  dignity  as  men,  and  feel  that  true 
greatness  is  in  the  soul,  and  depends  upon  ourselves. 

"I  cannot  omit,  on  this  occasion,  what  I  have  said  so 
often,  that  the  Americans  are,  without  contradiction,  the 
most  happy  people  I  have  known;  still  more  happy  if  they 
understand  well  their  own  happiness. 

"  I  pray  you  not  to  doubt  of  my  sincere  regard. 

"  Joseph,  Count  de  Survilliers." 


42  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

In  regard  to  this  letter,  an  Englishman,  in  "Notions  of 
the  Americans ;  picked  up  by  a  Traveling  Bachelor,"  1828, 
in  a  foot-note  to  vol.  1,  page  300,  says:  *  *  "The 
writer  understood  that  the  thanks  were  well  enough 
received,  for  they  were  usual,  but  a  momentary  oft'ence  was 
given  to  the  inhabitants  by  any  man  presuming  to  thank 
them  for  common  honesty.  The  people  of  the  vicinity 
have,  however,  already  forgotten  their  pique,  for  they  speak 
of  their  neighbor  with  great  kindness." 

Besides  the  great  loss  to  the  Count,  there  were  many 
paintings  and  sculpture  of  rare  merit  destroyed.  The 
ruins  were  pulled  down  and  every  trace  of  the  building 
removed,  except  the  observatory,  which  was  surrounded  by 
a  stone  enclosure  and  left  standing. 

In  constructing  his  new  house,  the  Count  used  his  stable, 
which  was  located  in  front  of  the  first  mansion,  and  was 
not  injured  by  the  fire.  By  alterations  and  extensions  he 
soon  converted  it  into  a  structure  hardl}-  inferior  to  his 
former  dwelling.  It  was  plain,  long  and  rather  low,  and  of 
brick  covered  with  white  plaster.  It  had  its  grand  hall  and 
staircase;  its  great  dining-rooms,  art  gallery  and  library;  its 
pillars  and  marble  mantels,  covered  with  sculpture  of  mar- 
velous workmanship;  its  statues,  busts  and  paintings  of  rare 
merit;  its  heavy  chandeliers,  and  its  hangings  and  tapestry, 
fringed  with  gold  and  silver.  With  the  large  and  finely 
carved  folding-doors  of  the  entrance,  and  the  liveried  ser- 
vants and  attendants,  it  had  the  air  of  the  residence  of  a 
distini'ui^^l.ed  foreigner,  unused  to  the  simplicity  of  our 
countrymen.  A  fine  lawn  stretched  on  the  front,  and  a 
large  garden  of  rare  flowers  and  plants,  interspersed  with 
fountains  and  chiseled  animals,  in  the  rear.  The  park, 
which  was  laid  out  in  the  style  of  the  Escurial  grounds, 
W51S  traversed  b}'  nearly  twelve  miles  of  drives  and  bridle- 
paths, winding  through  clustering  pines  and  oaks,  and 
planted  on  every  knoll  with  statuar}*.  Rustic  cots  or  rain 
shelters,  bowers  and  seats,  sheltered  springs  and  solitary 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  43 

retreats  were  interspersed.  Over  sev-eral  of  the  small 
streams  and  gullies  that  wound  through  and  diversified  the 
grounds,  were  thrown  rustic  bridges.  In  digging  for  the 
foundation  of  one,  the  "  Savage,"  near  the  creek,  a  number 
of  Indian  relics  were  found,  from  which  the  bridge  derived 
its  name. 

A  narrow  stream,  which  rises  beyond  the  Tliorntown 
road,  winds  down  through  part  of  the  ground  between  the 
mansion  and  the  city.  The  valley  of  this  little  stream  grad- 
ually increases  in  width  until  it  crosses  the  Trenton  road 
or  Park  street,  where  it  expands  into  a  broad  lagoon,  in 
which  the  tide  of  the  creek  ebbed  and  flowed  to  this  point. 
The  Count,  at  great  expense  and  labor,  threw  a  brick  arch 
over  the  stream  and  built  a  long  causeway,  some  twenty 
feet  high,  grading  the  road  to  nearl}'  a  level.  Across  the 
lower  end  of  the  lagoon  he  built  an  embankment,  separa- 
ting it  from  the  creek.  This  formed  a  most  picturesque 
lake,  some  two  hundred  yards  broad  and  nearly  half  a  mile 
long.  The  bluft's  on  either  side  were  bold  and  rather 
abrupt,  that  towards  the  town  being  covered  with  a  heavy 
growth  of  timber.  On  the  other  side,  along  the  edge  of  the 
lake,  a  tine  carriage-drive  was  constructed,  leading  ofl:' sharp 
to  the  right  near  its  end,  up  a  wild  ravine  and  under  a  high 
stone  bridge.  In  the  lake  were  several  islands  with  velvet 
grass,  young  trees  and  beautiful  shrubbery.  Swans  sported 
oti  the  surface  of  the  water,  stairways  wound  down  the 
banks,  and  little  fleets  of  pleasure-boats  were  moored  in  it 
and  a  cove  of  the  creek.  From  the  shore  of  the  lake  to  his 
house  was  a  subterraneous  passage,  walled  up  and  ceiled 
with  brick,  with  heavy  doors.  It  was  about  forty  feet  long, 
and  contained  two  passage-ways,  one  leading  to  the  cellar 
and  one  into  the  house.  The  third  door  was  the  entrance 
to  the  ice-houses.  Extending  beyond  the  wall  containing 
the  doors,  some  ten  feet,  was  a  greater  arch  of  substantial 
and  massive  structure.  The  entrance  leading  to  the  man- 
sion -was  connected   by  a  covered  way  with  the   "  Lake 


44  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

House,"  in  which  resided  his  daughter  Zenaide.  This  pas- 
sage or  long  shed,  built  upon  the  side  of  the  bluff',  was 
faced  with  lattice-work,  and  afforded  a  shelter  from  the 
inclemency  of  the  weather.  The  entrance  also  served  as  a 
shelter-way  in  case  of  sudden  showers,  for  parties  who  had 
been  pleasuring  on  the  water,  and  with  this  idea  the  Count 
had  carved,  in  Italian,  over  the  doorway,  "Not  ignorant  of 
evil,  I  learn  to  succor  the  unfortunate."  The  two  short 
underground  passage-wa^'s  above  described  are  the  only 
ones  ever  constructed  by  the  Count,  and,  with  the  observa- 
tory, gave  rise  to  the.  fanciful  stories  that  the  ex-King  kept 
a  sentinel  posted  upon  the  tower  to  watch  for  any  hostile 
French  or  Spanish  frigates  that  might  sail  up  the  Delaware 
to  capture  him.  The  story  that  he  dug  subterranean  pas- 
sages all  through  his  grounds,  the  doors  of  which  were  of 
iron,  and  could  be  closed  and  bolted  on  the  inside,  and 
which  led,  seemingly,  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  and  had 
no  egress,  was  all  the  pure  invention  of  an  imaginative 
writer.  The  end  of  the  first  described  passage,  where  it 
entered  the  cellar  of  the  old  house,  is  walled  up.  Some 
inquisitive  person  went  to  the  trouble  of  breaking  a  hole 
through  the  bricks,  and  was  rewarded  for  his  pains  by  the 
sight  of  the  earth  on  the  other  side. 

In  a  letter  to  the  author,  Mr.  A.  Mailliard  says  :  "  I  will 
now  refer  to  some  nonsense  I  have  read  about  some  subter- 
ranean galleries,  etc.,  built  by  Joseph  to  escape  from  his 
home.  The  truth  is  simply  this :  "  When  Joseph  built  the 
"lake  house"  for  his  daughter  Zenaide  and  her  household,  he 
connected  it  by  an  underground  gallery  with  the  main 
house,  for  the  facility  of  service,  and  for  her  own  use  in  bad 
weather.  She  used  to  come  by  that  passage  to  her  father's 
house." 

Surrounding  the  mansion  were  the  stables,  servants' 
lodges,  out-buildings,  etc.,  and  upon  the  ground  the  farm- 
er's and  gardener's  houses. 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  45 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  Lake  House — His  Wife,  Tribute  to — His  Daughter  Zenaide — 
Sketch  of  Prince  Charles — His  Grandchildren — His  Daughter 
Charlotte — SketcIi  of  Napoleon  Lewis. 

ON  THE  borders  of  the  lake,  near  the  road,  was  the  "Lake 
House,"  built  by  the  Count  for  Prince  Charles  and  Zena- 
ide. In  it  the  Prince  had  his  cabinet  of  birds,  insects,  etc.  It 
is  a  large,  three-story,  brick  structure,  covered  with  plaster, 
and  is  yet  standing  in  a  good  state  of  preservation.  The 
ceilings  are  low,  windows  rather  small,  and  entrance  large. 
With  its  white  walls  and  green  lattice  shutters,  it  presents  a 
plain  but  neat  appearance. 

The  Count's  wife,  Marie  Julie  Clari,  was  prevented,  by 
delicate  health,  from  attempting  a  sea  voyage ^to  join  him 
in  exile.  She  and  her  sister,  the  Queen  of  Sweden,  were 
remarkable  for  their  personal  beauty,  and  were  much 
esteemed  through  life  for  their  amiable  character,  exhibited 
in  every  vicissitude.  Madame  Junot  said  of  her :  "  Madame 
Joseph  Bonaparte  is  an  angel  of  goodness.  Pronounce  her 
name,  and  all  the  indigent,  all  the  unfortunate,  in  Paris  and 
Naples  will  repeat  it  with  blessings."  She,  too,  was  an 
exile  from  France,  residing  in  Florence.  The  sincerity  of 
the  love  of  Joseph  for  her  can  never  be  doubted.  If  the 
whole  course  of  his  life  and  his  correspondence  with  her 
did  not  prove  it,  the  following  touching  tribute,  expressed 
in  his  last  will,  should  remove  all  doubt: 

"  I  would  have  wished  to  name  and  appoint  as  my  sole 
heiress,  my  dear  and  well-beloved  wife,  Marie  Julie.  In 
the  course  of  our  long  and  happy  union  my  confidence  in 
her  has  been  full  and  entire.  Our  property  has  been  in  com- 
mon as  well  as  our  hearts.  In  leaving  her  the  mistress  of 
all  that  I  possess,  except  the  several  legacies,  I  know  well  I 
shall  take  nothing  from  my  dear  daughter  Zenaide.      I 


46  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

shall  then  have  set  my  daughter  the  example  of  the  kindest 
confidence  and  most  sacred  respect  which  she  must  continue 
to  have  for  the  character  of  the  best  of  mothers,  the  most 
virtuous  of  women.  I  desire  to  testify  to  her  strongly  my 
affection  as  well  as  my  gratitude  for  her  tender  attachment, 
and  to  guarantee  to  her  with  all  my  power  the  position  and 
tranquility  which  she  so  justl}-  deserves." 

The  Count  had  no  sons,  but  his  two  daughters  joined 
him  in  America.  The  eldest,  the  Princess  Zenaide  Char- 
lotte Julie,  born  July  8th,  1804,  married  her  cousin,  Charles 
Lucien,  Prince  de  Canino,  and  Musignano,  sou  of  Lucien 
Bonaparte,  at  Brussels,  June  29th,  1822. 

At  St.  Helena,  Napoleon  informed  Las  Casas  that, 
towards  the  close  of  the  year  1813,  when  he  concluded  the 
treaty  of  Yalencay,  in  which  he  recognized  Ferdinand  as 
Sovereign  of  Spain,  he  yielded  to  a  former  proposal  of 
Ferdinand  to  choose  a  wife  for  him,  and  his  marriage  with 
Zenaide,  his  brother's  eldest  daughter,  was  decided  upon ; 
hut  circumstances  changed,  and  Ferdinand  desired  the 
marriage  deferred.  "  You  can  no  longer,"  he  wrote,  "  sup- 
port me  with  your  arms,  and  I  ought  not  to  make  my  wife 
a  title  of  exclusion  in  the  e^-es  of  my  people."  The 
Emperor  assured  Las  Casas  that  had  the  aiiairs  of  1814 
turned  out  differently,  Ferdinand  would  unquestionably 
have  accomplished  his  marriage  with  Joseph's  daughter." 

Prince  Charles  and  Zenaide  joined  the  Count's  family  in 
America,  where  he  gained  a  high  reputation  as  an  ornithol- 
ogist, which  was  increased  by  his  subsequent  labors  after 
his  return  to  Italy  in  1828.  In  1840  he  inherited  his 
princely  titles,  but  continued  to  devote  himself  exclusively 
to  scientific  pursuits  till  1847,  when,  touching  upon  politics 
at  Venice,  he  was  expelled.  At  Rome  he  supported  Pius 
IX  as  long  as  he  adhered  to  a  progressive  policy,  but  when 
the  Pope  changed  front  he  became  a  prominent  leader  of 
the  revolutionists,  was  chosen  president  of  the  Constituent 
Assembly,  and  upheld  the  cause  until  the  arrival  of  the 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  47 

French  troops,  in  1849,  crushed  out  the  hfe  of  the  young 
Republic. 

Upon  entering  France,  he  was  arrested  by  order  of  Napo- 
leon m,  and  sent  to  England.  He  was  the  founder  and 
president  of  many  scientiiic  congresses  in  Italy.  He  wrote 
extensively  on  American  and  European  ornithology  and 
other  branches  of  natural  history.  One  of  his  principal 
works  was  "  American  Ornithology,  or  the  Natural  History 
of  Birds  inhabiting  the  United  States,  not  given  by  Wil- 
son." A  new  edition  of  this  work  has  just  been  issued 
under  the  following  title  : 

"American  Ornithology;  or,  the  Natural  History  of  the 
Birds  of  the  United  States,  by  Alexander  Wilson  and 
Prince  Charles  Lucien  Bonaparte."  The  illustrations, 
notes  and  life  by  Sir  Wm.  Jardine,  Bart.  F.  E.  S.  E.,  F.  L. 
S.,  3  vols.,  half  mo.,  with  hand-colored  plates  of  the  birds. 
Large  paper  copy;  London,  1876.  Price  $36.00. — Sabine's 
New  York  Advertiser. 

He  was  the  author  of  many  other  scientific  works,  and 
died  in  Paris,  in  1857,  aged  54  years.  His  wife,  Zenaide,  was 
an  accomplished  woman.  She  translated  Schiller's  dramas, 
and  assisted  her  husband  in  his  scientific  labors.  She  was 
also  quite  an  artist.  She  died  in  Italy,  in  1854.  She  bore 
him  eight  children,  as  follows  : 

Joseph  Lucien  Charles  Napoleon,  Prince  de  Musignano, 
born  in  Philadelphia,  February  13th,  1824.  He  inherited 
the  Park  and  all  the  real  estate  of  his  grandfather  in 
America,  except  the  Groveville  farm.  Died  in  Rome  in 
1865. 

Lucien  Louis  Joseph  Napoleon,  born  in  Rome,  November 
15th,  1828,  was  ordained  a  priest,  and  in  1868  became  a 
cardinal. 

Julie  Charlotte  Zenaide  Pauline  Letitia  Desiree  Barth- 
omee,  born  June  6th,  1830;  married  August  30th,  1847,  to 
Alexandre  Del  Gallo,  Marquis  de  Roccagiovine. 


48  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

Charlotte  Honorinc  Josephine,  born  March  4th,  1832; 
married  October  4th,  1848,  to  Comte  Pierre  Priraole. 

Marie  Desiree  Eugenia  Josephine  Philomene,  born  March 
18tl),  1835. 

Aiiguste  Amilie  Maximilliene  Jacqueline,  born  Novem- 
ber 9th,  1836. 

Napoleon  Gregoire  Jacques  Phillipe,  born  February  9th, 
1839.  He  married  an  Italian  princess,  had  the  title  of 
Highness  conferred  upon  him  in  1861,  and  served  in 
Mexico  under  Marshal  Bazine. 

Joseph's  youngest  daughter,  Charlotte,  who  had  been 
living  with  him  for  several  years,  returned  to  Italy  to  rejoin 
her  mother.  In  "  Lippincott's  Magazine  "  for  December, 
1870,  page  673,  is  an  article  on  "  Impromptus,  by  Nicholas 
Biddle."  Among  those  quoted,  is  a  poem  of  thirty-four 
lines,  to  Countess  Charlotte  Survilliers,  on  her  embarking 
for  Europe,  written  in  her  album,  on  board  the  steamboat 
"Philadelphia,"  July  11th,  1824.  While  in  that  country, 
in  1827,  she  married  her  cousin,  Napoleon  Louis,  Grand 
Duke  of  Cleves  and  Berg,  eldest  son  of  Louis  Bonaparte, 
King  of  Holland,  by  his  Queen  Hortense  Beauharnais,  and 
brother  of  Napoleon  HI.  He  was  recognized  for  a  short 
time  as  King  of  Holland,  his  mother  heing  regent.  Upon 
the  separation  of  his  'father  and  mother,  the  tribunal  at 
Paris  gave  him  to  the  former.  He  subsequently  became  an 
ardent  liberal,  and,  during  the  revolutionary  outbreak  of 
1831,  he  and  his  brother  Louis  Napoleon  organized  the 
defensive  operations  of  the  Italian  patriots,  and  were  about 
to  seize  a  fort  and  set  free  the  prisoners,  when  their  parents 
dissuaded  them  from  compromising  the  Italian  cause  by- 
giving  to  the  French  a  pretext  for  deserting  it.  Soon  after, 
he  died  at  Pesaro,  Italy,  March  17th,  1831,  aged  27  years. 
His  death,  and  that  of  his  cousin,  the  Duke  de  Reichstadt, 
made  his  brother,  Louis  Napoleon,  according  to  the  prece- 
dence accorded  in  the  Emperor's  will,  heir  to  the  French 
throne.  He  was  noted  for  his  scientific  attainments,  and. 
published  several  works. 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  49 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Personal  Appearance  op  Joseph — Interesting  Visit — How  He  En- 
tertained His  Guests. 

IN  THE  biographical  sketch  of  Joseph  Napoleon  Bona- 
parte, Count  de  Survilliers,  second  edition,  London, 
1833,  so  far  endorsed  by  the  Count  that  he  inscribed  in  the 
cop3"  now  in  the  possession  of  Miss  Maria  H.  Nutt,  "  C.  J. 
Ingersoll.  Presented  by  the  Count  de  Survillier,"  on  page 
95,  we  find:  "In  his  person,  Joseph  so  much  resembled  his 
brother  Napoleon  that,  were  he  not  taller,  and  considerably 
less  stout,  he  might  pass  for  him.  In  his  habits,  also,  there 
is  a  marked  similarity;  Joseph,  being  extremely  temperate 
and  fond  of  early  hours,  generally  retiring  at  ten  o'clock 
and  rising  at  four  or  five  in  the  morning.  *  *  *  j^ 
consequence  of  his  abstinence  from  excesses,  although  now 
past  sixty,  he  has  the  constitution  and  strength  of  a  man  of 
forty." 

In  the  same  book,  on  page  43,  in  a  foot-note  by  the 
English  editor,  we  find  an  extract  from  "  The  History  of 
the  War  of  Spain,"  by  General  Foy.  In  speaking  of  his 
assuming  the  crown  of  Spain,  the  General  says : 

"  This  Prince  (Joseph)  was  far  from  coveting  such  a 
destiny.  He  was  forty  years  old.  His  figure  was  graceful, 
and  his  manners  elegant.  He  was  fond  of  women,  of  the 
fine  arts,  and  of  literature.  His  conversation,  methodical 
and  abounding  with  observations,  indicated  a  habitude  of 
speaking,  and  a  knowledge  of  mankind,  only  to  be  acquired 
in  the  midst  of  equality." 

In  the  same .  foot-note,  on  pages  44  and  45,  the  editor 
says : 

"  The  reader  will  not  probably  be  displeased  at  seeing  a 
quotation  of  the  testimony  borne  by  the  illustrious  Ber- 


50  BONAPARTE'S  PAIiK. 

nardin  de  St.  Pierre,  author  of  '  Paul  and  Virginia,'  taken 
from  the  preface  to  the  grand  folio  edition  of  his  immortal 
romance.  What  renders  this  homage  still  more  valuable  is 
that  Bernardin  de  St.  Pierre  openly  professed  republican 
doctrines.     The  passage  only  requires  to  be  quoted : 

"  'About  a  year  and  a  half  ago  (1804),  I  was  invited  by 
one  of  the  subscribers  to  the  fine  edition  of  '  Paul  and  Vir- 
ginia,' to  come  and  see  him  at  his  country  house.  He  was 
a  young  father  of  a  family,  whose  physiognomy  announced 
the  qualities  of  his  mind.  He  united  in  himself  everything 
which  distinguishes  a  son,  a  brother,  a  husband,  a  father, 
and  a  friend  to  humanity.  He  took  me  in  private,  and  said  : 
'My  fortune,  lohich  I  owe  to  the  nation,  affprds  me  the 
means  of  being  useful ;  add  to  my  happiness  by  giving  me 
an  opportunity  of  contributing  to  your  own."  And  the 
author  finishes  his  recital  of  the  interview  with  a  few  words 
which  speak  volumes :  '  This  philosopher,  so  worthy  of  a 
throne,  if  any  throne  was  worthy  of  him,  was  Prince 
Joseph  Napoleon  Bonaparte.' " 

Garrit  S.  Cannon,  Esq.,  a  distinguished  member  of  the 
legal  profession,  residing  in  Bordentown,  in  an  article  to 
"The  Register"  of  that  city,  says: 

"  I  remember  very  distinctly  the  first  time  I  ever  saw 
Joseph  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  Count  de  Survilliers ;  he  had 
been  absent  in  England  for  several  years;  had  suddenly 
returned  here  and  had  resumed  his  residence  at  his  elegant 
domain  then  and  still  known  as  the  '  Park.'  He  was  stand- 
ing with  his  secretary,  Louis  Mailliard,  Esq.,  and  other 
members  of  his  suite,  on  the  porch  of  Kestler's  hotel, 
awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  train  by  the  Camden  and  Amboy 
route.  One  could  hardly  believe  that  the  plainly-dressed, 
afltable,  unaflfected  old  gentleman  in  that  group  was  really 
the  ex-King  of  Spain,  the  brother  of  the  great  Emperor 
Napoleon.  In  stature,  he  w^as  short;  in  his  body,  inclined 
to  corpulency;  but  he  had  the  distinguishing  characteristics 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  51 

of  the  Bonapartes,  which  was  the  beauty  and  fairness  of 
his  complexion.  It  was  peculiar  and  striking,  as  smooth 
and  transparent  as  a  woman's."  Abbott,  in  his  "History 
of  Napoleon,"  mentions  this  feature  as  a  peculiar  distinction 
of  the  whole  family. 

In  "A  Sketch  of  Joseph  Bonaparte,  by  Helen  Beikeley," 
which  appeared  in  "Godey's  Lady's  Book"  for  April,  1846, 
in  which  the  author,  her  husband  and  niece  are  represented 
as  spending  some  days  at  the  Park,  Helen  Berkeley  thus 
describes  the  first  evening  of  their  visit: 

"  The  tea-service,  removed,  our  host  gave  some  private 
directions  to  the  servants,  which  they  obeyed  by  producing 
two  handsomely-bound  volumes,  large  enough  to  look  (at 
the  first  glance)  like  a  good-sized  portfolio  of  engravings, 
rather  than  a  book.  One  was  placed  upon  a  table,  imme- 
diately under  a  chandelier,  which  threw  upon  it  a  perfect 
flood  of  light,  and  the  other  given  to  Mr.  T."  (Wm.  Thi- 
baud,  a  member  of  his  household)  "  to  dispose  of  as  he 
chose.  The  Count  then  arranged  seats  for  Clara  and 
myself  at  the  table,  and  Mr.  T.  invited  his  daughter  and 
Mr.  Sindly  to  join  him  at  another  table.  Our  host  opened 
the  book,  which  was  full  of  costly  engravings,  representa- 
tions of  Napoleon's  life  and  the  different  warlike  acts  he 
had  performed.  He  paused  at  every  picture,  and  grew 
enthusiastic  as  he  recounted  the  different  scenes  which  had 
been  thus  splendidly  commemorated.  His  cheek  flushed 
and  his  eyes  grew  brighter  as  he  proudly  and  aft'ectionately 
exclaimed,  'There  never  was  but  one  Napoleon.'  Fre- 
quently he  would  sigh,  and  place  his  hand  over  his  heart, 
and  say,  in  a  tone  which  perhaps  his  broken  English  ren- 
dered more  touching,  '  I  sigh  for  the  death  of  my  poor- 
brother;'  and  at  other  times  he  would  say,  'Oh,  they  did 
him  great  wrong;  my  brother  had  great  wrongs,  Madame,, 
and  now  he  is  dead.'  The  excitement  was  at  times  painful,, 
and  averted  my  mind  so  completely  from  the  pictures  that 
I  could  not  do  justice  to  their  merit." 


52  BONAPABTE-S  PABK. 

Helen  Berkeley's  description  of  the  library,  etc.,  is  so 
so  interesting,  we  venture  upon  quoting  further  from  her. 
Of  the  next  morning,  she  says : 

"  We  found  the  Count  as  full  of  vivacity  and  amiability 
as  ever.  When  we  arose  from  the  table,  he  asked  us  if  we 
would  like  to  see  his  private  library,  and  take  a  general 
tour  of  the  house.  Our  answer  was,  as  ^-ou  may  imagine, 
a  joyful  affirmative.  Mr.  T.  ordered  the  key  of  the  private 
library  to  be  brought,  and  a  servant  preceded  us  upstairs 
with  the  key  in  his  hand.  The  door  was  opened,  we 
entered,  it  closed  again,  and  I  heard  the  servant  lock  the 
door  and  walk  away.  I  looked  around.  The  apartment 
was  filled,  or  rather  lined,  with  elegant  book-cases  and 
handsomelj'-bound  books,  but  there  was  no  door  visible, 
and  I  was  sure  we  were  locked  in. 

"  It  seemed  rudeness  to  feel  any  uneasiness,  yet  it  was 
unavoidable — the  proceeding  seemed  so  strange  a  one.  At 
all  events,  I  thought  it  some  consolation  to  know  we  were 
all  together.  After  we  had  walked  around  the  room  and 
examined  the  books  and  a  few  paintings  that  hung  on  the 
wall,  and  many  rich  vases  which  had  belonged  to  Napoleon, 
the  Count  touched  a  secret  spring,  and  several  rows  of  skil- 
fully painted  book-cases  flew  back  and  displayed  a  set  of 
drawers.  These  he  opened,  and  drew  out  a  number  of 
caskets  containing  splendid  jewels  of  all  descriptions.  Sev- 
eral clusters  looked  like  jeweled  handles  of  swords;  others, 
portions  of  crowns  rudely  broken  ofi';  others,  like  lids  of 
small  boxes;  many  of  them  were  ornaments  entire.  He 
showed  us  the  crown  and  rings  he  wore  when  King  of 
Spain ;  also,  the  crown,  robe  and  jewels  in  which  i^^apoleon 
was  crowned.  When  our  eyes  had  been  sufficiently  dazzled 
by  the  glare  of  diamonds  and  emeralds,  to  satisfy  him,  he 
touched  another  concealed  spring,  which  gave  to  view 
another  set  of  drawers,  and  displayed  to  us  many  of  Napo- 
leon's valuable  papers.  His  treaties  and  letters  were  care- 
fully  bound  round   by  ribbons  and   fastened   by  jeweled 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  63 

clasps.  Some  of  the  papers  he  opened  and  read  to  us,  then 
returned  them  to  their  places  with  a  care  which  almost 
amounted  to  veneration.  At  length  all  the  papers  were 
returned,  the  rohe  and  jewels  safe  in  their  Afrf/??^-places, 
and  the  Count  looked  around  the  room  as  much  as  to  say 
he  had  nothing  further  to  show  us  at  present. 

"  While  I  was  wondering  liow  we  were  to  make  our 
exit,  he  approached  a  book-case  at  the  end  of  the  room, 
pressed  his  finger  on  a  parricular  place,  and  the  whole  case 
flew  back,  which  showed  a  door,  which  opened  with  a  lock, 
and  we  entered  into  the  Count's  summer  sleeping  apartment. 
It  consisted  of  a  chamber,  dressing  and  bathing-room,  with 
a  small  studio,  or  rather  boudoir.  The  curtains,  canopy  and 
furniture  were  of  light  blue  satin,  trimmed  with  silver. 
Every  room  contained  a  mirror,  reaching  from  the  ceiling 
to  the  floor.  Over  the  bed  hung  a  splendid  mirror,  and 
also  one  over  the  table.  The  walls  were  covered  with  oil 
paintings,  principally  of  young  females,  with  less  clothing 
about  them  than  they  or  you  w-ould  have  found  comfortable 
in  our  cold  climate,  and  much  less  than  we  found  agreeable 
when  the  Count,  without  ceremony,  led  us  before  them,  and 
enumerated  the  beauties  of  paintings  with  the  air  of  an 
accomplished  amateur.  In  every  room  of  the  house  there 
were  statues  of  Napoleon  in  some  different  position  and  of 
various  sizes.  There  were  also  statues  of  his  father  and 
mother  and  all  the  family.  To  the  statue  of  Pauline,  in 
particular,  the  Count  called  our  attention,  and  asked  us  to 
admire  it.  He  stood  some  time  perfectly  enraptured  before 
it,  pointing  out  to  us  what  a  beautiful  head  Pauline  had, 
what  hair,  what  eyes,  nose,  mouth,  chin,  what  a  throat, 
what  a  neck,  what  arms,  what  a  magnificent  bust,  what  a 
foot,  enumerating  all  her  charms,  one  after  another,  and 
demanding  our  opinion  of  them.  Necessity  made  us  philoso- 
phers, and  we  were  obliged  to  show  as  much  sang-froid  on 
the  subject  as  himself,  for  it  was  impossible  to  get  him  away 
without  our  prudery  exciting  more  attention  than  would 


54  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

have  been  pleasant.  When  the  Count  was  satisfied  with 
the  eulogiums  we  bestowed  upon  his  fair  sister,  he  led  us 
on,  remarking,  as  he  turned  away  from  the  statue,  '  Ah, 
she  was  very  beautiful,  very  beautiful  was  Pauline,  but  too 
ambitious.  Nothing  could  satisfy  her;  she  always  felt  as  if 
my  poor  brother  was  robbing  her  of  a  kingdom,  instead  of 
bestowing  one  upon  her;  but  she  was  so  beautiful.'  *  * 
The  Count  next  conducted  us  to  his  wiliter  suite  of  apart- 
ments. They  were  decorated  much  in  the  style  of  his 
summer  ones,  excepting  the  furniture  was  of  crimson  and 
gold." 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  55 


CHAPTER  YII. 

Description  of  Some  of  IIis  Paintings  —  Full  List  of — Sketch  op 
Cakdixal  Fesch  —  Of  Noted  Artists  —  List  of  Marbles  and 
Bronzes  —  Of  Exgkavinos  —  Description  op  Venus  Victrix — Of 
His  Furniture. 

THE  COUNT  was  a  judicious  and  munificent  patron  of 
the  arts.     He  owned,  during  his  life,  some  of  the  finest 
paintings  in  America.     Among  these  was  liapbael  Moeng's 
'■'■Nativity  of  Our  Saviour." 
A  note  to  this  picture,  in  the  catalogue,*  says : 

"  This  magnificent  Chef-d'oeuvre  was  executed  by  the 
artist  for  a  monarch  of  Spain,  as  an  Altar-piece,  and  cost  an 
immense  price.     It  represents  the  Virgin,  with  our  Saviour, 


♦CATALOGUE 

Of  Valuable  Paintings  and  Statuabt, 

The  collection  of  the  late 

Joseph    Bonaparte,    Count    De   Suhvillibbs, 

To  be  sold  at  Public  Sale, 

Ok  Wednesday  and  Tiiubsday,  September  17th  and  TStii,  1845, 

At  the  Mansion,  at  Bordentown,  New  Jersey, 

By  Thomas  Bibch,  Jr. 

i^^The  Paintings  will  be  open  for  examination  from  the  15th  of  August  until  the 

time  of  sale. 

terms  or  SALB. 

1st.  The  sale  will  commence  at  eleven  o'clock,  on  each  day,  and  proceed  in  regular 
order,  according  to  the  Catalogue. 

2d.  The  purchasers  to  give  their  names  and  places  of  abode;  and,  (if  required  by 
the  auctioneer,)  to  deposit  part  of  the  purchase-money;  in  default  of  which,  the  lot  so 
purchased  to  be  immediately  put  up  again  and  resold. 

3d.  All  bills  to  be  settled  in  full  within  three  days  from  the  day  of  sale  (before 
delivery  of  the  Paintings);  otherwise,  they  may  be  resold,  at  the  expense  of  the 
purchaser. 

j9®~  Orders  given  for  lots  will  be  faithfully  attended  to  by  the  auctioneer. 

On  the  lower  margin  was  written: 

"Catalogues,  V2]4  cents,  to  be  had  at  Nolen's  Picture  store,  No.  78  Chestnut  street." 

On  the  outside  of  the  bacls  cover  is : 

"  Cataloouk  or  Books. 

"It  being  deemed  necessary  to  issue  the  Catalogue  of  Paintings  immediately,  as 
demands  have  been  made  for  them,  to  forward  by  the  steamer  of  the  1st  August,  to 
England,  the  original  intention  of  issuing  a  general  catalogue  has  been  changed,  and 
a  separate  catalogue  of  the  books  and  other  articles  will  be  issued  about  the  1st 
September." 


56  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

and  Shepherds  in  adoration — Angels  descending,  as  Messen- 
gers from  Heaven,  It  would  be  useless  to  attempt  a  descrip- 
tion of  such  a  Painting ;  no  pen  could  give  an  idea  of  its 
merits.  The  late  owner,  with  a  view  to  encourage  the  Fine 
Arts  in  this  country,  lent  it,  for  some  time,  to  the  National 
Academies  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  where  a  great 
number  of  copies  were  made  by  young  Artists,  who  profited 
by  his  Benevolence." 

"  Canvass,  length  4  feet  6  inches,  height  9  feet  6  inches." 

Another,  by  Rubens  and  Sneyders,  of  which  the  catalogue 
says : 

"  The  centre  of  this  Picture  represents  the  Infant  Saviour 
and  St.  John,  and  three  Angels  playing  with  a  Lamb.  At 
each  side  is  a  Pyramid  of  Fruits  and  Vegetables,  formed 
round  the  trunks  of  two  Trees.  Over  the  group  of  Children 
is  a  large  wreath  of  Fruits  and  Flowers,  with  Birds  on  it. 
The  figures,  of  exquisite  beauty  and  coloring,  are  by 
Eubens,  and  the  Fruits,  Birds,  &c.,  by  Snyders. 

"  These  two  famous  Masters  frequently  worked  together. 
Eubens,  after  having  finished  the  Figures,  leaving  the  acces- 
sories to  Snyders." 

Canvass.   Length  8  feet  10  inches,  height  5  feet  10  inches. 
Catalogue  of  1845,  No.  101.     $2,000  were  oflered  for  the 
above  Painting,  but  not  accepted." 
By  Rubens :  "  Tioo  Lions  and  a  Fawn.    Episode  of  Paradise." 

"This  Painting  was  the  No.  14  of  1845  Sale.  A  well- 
known  Gentleman  and  Amateur,  Mr.  F  *****  *,  of  New 
York,  oiFered  $2,200  for  it,  but  the  owner  would  not  part 
with  it  at  that  price." 

Canvass.    7  ft.  8  in.  L.  by  4  ft.  7  H. 

By  Rubens :  "  The  Lion  caught  in  a  Net." 

Canvass.     6  ft.  3  in.  L.  by  4  ft.  8  H. 

By  Rubens ;  "  Tlie  Judgment  of  Paris." 

Copper.     2  ft.  10  in.  L.  by  2  ft.  3  H. 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  57 

By  Sneyders :  "Hawk  Among  Chickens.  A  rare  specimen 
of  this  Master." 

Canvass.     5  ft.  7  in.  L.  by  3  ft.  9  II. 

By  Sneyders ;  "Portrait  of  a  Hawk  sitting  on  the  branch  of 
a  Tree.'' 

Canvass.     3  ft.  5  in.  L.  by  2  ft.  7  li. 

By  Sneyders :  "Heron,  Ducks  and  Fox.'' 

Canvass.     4  ft.  6  in.  L.  by  3  ft.  9  H. 

By  Sneyders  :  "Peacocks,  and  other  Birds." 

Canvass.     4  ft.  6  in.  L.  by  3  ft.  2  H. 

All  the  paintings  in  the  "Pennsylvania  Academy  of  the 
Fine  Arts,"  at  Philadelphia,  by  Joseph  Vernet,  formerly 
belonged  to  the  Count.  Two  of  them  are  called  in  the  Acad- 
emy's catalogue  of  1878,  "  Marine;"  another,  "  Shipwreck" — 
the  latter  an  exceedingly  fine  example  of  Vernet's  style. 
Another  is,  "  The  Cardinal^  and  his  Friends;  View  of  his  Palace 
in  the  Distance." 

The  Count  had  also  by  Vernet : 

1782 — "A  Calm,  Morning  Scene.     Fishermen  in  the  fore-  . 
ground,  a  Ship,  with  sails  loose,  in  the  centre." 

Canvass.     8  ft.  4  in.  L.  by  5  ft.  H. 

"Storm  clearing  off,  Ship  on  the  Rocks,  the  inhabitants 
of  the  coast  rescuing  the  passengers,  and  carrying  them  up 
the  rocks." 

Canvass.     10  ft.  L.  by  5  ft.  H. 

"These  two  pictures  have  been  engraved,  and  are  choice 
specimens  of  this  Master." 

"View  from  Nature;  Scene  near  Naples.  Village  and 
castle  in  the  distance,  figures  in  the  foreground." 

Canvass.     10  ft.  L.  by  4  ft.  3  in.  II. 


•Cardinal  Fesch,  maternal  undo  of  Joseph,  and  son  of  a  Swiss  captain,  in  the  ser- 
vice of  France.  Possessed  of  great  wealth,  his  gallery  of  paintings  occupied  three 
stories  of  his  princely  palace.  The  collection  embraced  fourteen  hundred  pictures, 
and  was  considered  one  of  the  largest  and  best  in  Rome.  Besides  many  of  the  first 
Italian  masters,  it  was  singularly  rich  in  the  works  of  the  Flemish  and  1  Hitch  schools. 
Some  years  before  his  death,  he  sold  a  large  part  of  his  paintings,  and,  by  his  will, 
divided  those  remaining  between  the  Vatican  and  his  relatives,  to  the  latter  of  whom 
he  left  most  of  his  property.    He  died  at  R  o  me,  in  1839,  aged  seventy-seven  years. 


68  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

Two — ^^Falls  of  Tivoli,  different  views." 

Canvass.     2  ft.  1  in.  L.  by  3  ft.  2  in.  II.  (each). 

Appleton's  "American  Cyclopseclia,"  first  edition,  shows 
these  pictures  were  all  painted  in  or  before  1789,  in  which 
year  Joseph  Yernet  died.  He  was  father  of  the  still  more 
eminent  Horace  Vernet,  who  has  been  well  patronized  by 
the  successors  of  Napoleon.  A  number  of  Joseph  Vernet's 
pictures  are  in  the  Gallery  of  the  Louvre.  They  are  princi- 
pally sea  pieces. 

The  paintings  by  Luca  Giordano  were  Nos.  69  and  70. 
"  These  Paintings  in  the  centre  and  foreground  have  a 
large  display  of  the  Fishes  and  Shells  of  the  Mediterranean, 
the  colouring  of  which  is  wonderfully  beautiful,  fresh  and 
brilliant.  In  the  background  is  represented  a  number  of 
Marine  Gods,  Nymphs,  Cupids,  &c.' 

Canvass.     10  ft.  L.  by  8  ft.  H." 

^^ Hercules  and  Omphale." 

Canvass.     3  ft.  9  in.  L.  by  7  ft.  3  in.  H. 

'■'■Rape  of  Dejaiiire.'' 

Canvass.     3  ft.  9  in.  L.  by  7  ft.  3  in.  H. 

^'■Rinaldo  in  the  Garden  of  Armida,  from  Tasso." 

Canvass.     3  ft.  2  in.  L.  by  7  ft.  3  in.  H. 

^^ Burning  of  Olindo  and  Sophronia." 

Canvass.     2  ft.  10  in.  L.  by  7  ft.  3  in.  H. 

The  paintings  by  Simon  Denys  were : 

"■Storm  at  Night,  Barn  on  Fire,  Cattle  rushiyig  out" 

Canvass.     7  ft.  6  in.  L.  by  5  ft.  4  in.  H. 

^'Landscape,  Italian  Scenery,  Bay  of  Naples^  Cattle  at  Foun- 
tain in  foreground  ;  rich  effect  of  sunset." 

Canvass.     7  ft.  3  in.  L.  by  5  ft.  2  in.  H. 

''Rich  Landscape,  Mountain  Scenery,  loith  waterfall;  Cattle 
and  figures  in  the  foreground." 

Canvass.     7  ft.  6  in.  L.  by  5  ft.  4  in.  H. 

Denys  (Denis)  *'  was  a  native  of  France,  settled  at  Naples, 
and  was  a  very  able  landscape  painter  and  executed  a  num- 
ber of  beautiful  pictures  for  the  Count  of  Naples.     He  is 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  59 

reproached  with  having  au  extraordinary  predilection  for 
painting  cows,  for  there  is  not  one  of  his  pictures  in  which 
there  is  not  one  or  more  of  these  animals.  His  pictures 
have  a  fine  eiFect,  and  his  accuracy  was  so  great  that  a  bot- 
anist could  determine  the  character  of  all  the  plants  which 
he  introduced. — Pllkington." 

The  paintings  by  David  Teniers,  the  elder,  were : 

Two  ^'- Large  Landscapes,  Jigures  in  foreground." 

Canvass.     8  ft.  L.  by  5  ft.  10  in.  H. 

'■^Landscape,  with  Gipseys  in  foreground.'' 

Canvass.     3  ft.  3  in.  L.  by  2  ft.  5  in.  H.  ' 

"  Two  Peasants,  and  Dog." 

Canvass.     1  ft.  6  in.  L.  by  2  ft.  3  in.  H. 
By  Rembrandt: 

Two — '■'■Head  of  a  Turk,  with  flowing  Beard.  These  two 
pictures  are  painted  with  great  boldness  and  force." 

Canvass.     1  ft.  6  in  L.  by  1  ft.  10  in.  H. 
By  Bassano : 

'■''The  Entrance  into  the  Ark.  The  Animals  in  pairs  pass- 
ing the  foregrounds;  a  white  Horse  carrying  a  Sack,  the 
centre  of  the  group.  The  style  of  the  composition  is  solemn 
and  grand,  and  the  finish  minute." 

Canvass.     6  ft.  9  in.  L.  by  3  ft.  7  in.  H. 
By  Bidault,  a  renowned  French  landscape  painter : 

"  View  of  the  Park  of  Mortfontaine,  in  France.  Mortfon- 
taine  was  the  favorite  residence  of  the  ex-King,  and  is 
known  to  many  Americans  as  the  place  where  the  Treaty 
with  the  United  States  was  signed.  Also,  three  other 
match-pictures  by  the  same  artist." 

Two  other  Views  of  the  Park  of  Mortfontaine. 

'■'•Napoleon  in  his  Cabinet.     Repetition  of  the  Painting  by 
Rob't  Lefevre." 
By  Antonio  Tempesta: 

'■'Battle  Pieces." 

Canvass.     4  ft.  10  in.  L.  by  4  ft.  H. 


60  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

By  Boguet : 

^^ Passage  of  the  Po  near  Plaisance  hy  the  French  Army  under 
the  command  of  General  Bonaparte. 

The  groups  of  Horses  and  Soldiers  are  admirable  for  the 
Details  and  Execution." 

Canvass.     8  ft.  4  in  L.  by  5  ft.  4  in.  H. 
By  Swebach : 

^'■French  Hussar  on  White  Horse,  with  Dog.^' 

Canvass.     1  ft.  9  in.  L.  by  1  ft.  5  in  H. 

"  Turk  on  Horseback.^' 

Canvass.     1  ft.  1  in.  L.  by  1  ft.  4  in.  H. 
By  Caspar  Van  Eyck : 

^^  Coast  Scene,  Castle  on  a  Hill,  Boats  and  figures  in  the 
foreground." 

Canvass.     3  ft.  8  in.  L.  by  2  ft.  4  in.  H. 

^^ Naval  Engagement  between  Spaniards  and  Turks;  numer- 
ous figures,  painted  with,  uncommon  spirit,  and  well 
drawn." 

Canvass.     3  ft.  10  in.  L.  by  2  ft,  9  in.  H. 
By  Gio  Botta  Colomba : 

^^ Palace  Garden  ;  a  Party  taking  Refreshments." 

Canvass.     3  ft.  2  in.  L.  by  4  ft.  4  in.  H. 

'■'■  Landscape,  Venus  and  Adonis;  match  picture  to  the 
above." 

'-'•Scene  in  Woods ;  Woodcutters  taking  their  meals." 

Canvass.     2  ft.  10  in.  L.  by  4  ft.  H. 

^^Scene  in  Woods ;  a  Gipsey  Party.     Match  to  the  above." 

^^Moonlight  Wood  Scene,  with  group  of  Gipseys  round  a 
fire." 

Canvass.     2  ft.  10  in.  L.  by  3  ft.  10  in.  H. 

^^ Landscape  Mountain  Scenery,  Cascade  and  Bridge,  numer- 
ous figures  in  foreground." 

Canvass.     2  ft.  10  in.  L.  by  4  ft.  H. 
By  Jacques  Savery : 

'■'■Royal  Stag  Hunt.     This  picture  is  quite  a  curiosity,  from 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  61 

the  large  number  of  Figures  and  Animals  contained  in  it, 
and  the  remarkable  labour  and  care  bestowed  on  the  finish 
of  each." 

Canvass.     5  ft.  8  in.  L.  by  3  ft.  9  in.  H. 

By  Gherardo  Delle  Notti : 

"  Christ  breaking  Bread  with  his  two  Disciples  at  Emaeus." 

By  A.  Carracchi : 

"  Christ  and  his  Disciples  at  Sea  in  a  Storm,  Christ  sleeping." 
Canvass.     5  ft.  L.  by  2  ft.  3  in.  H. 

By  Laurent  De  La  Hyre : 

^^Sf.  Sebastian  pierced  by  an  Arroio." 
Canvass.     3  ft.  L.  by  4  ft.  II. 

'■'■Palemon  in  the  guise  of  a  Triton  expressing  his  love  for  a 
Nymph  seated  on  a  rock  above." 

Canvass.     4  ft.  2  in.  L.  by  4  ft.  10  in.  H. 

By  Gerard  Terburgh : 

^^Departure  of  the  Prodigal  Son." 
Canvass.     1  ft.  10  in.  L.  by  2  ft.  8  in.  H. 

By  Guercino : 

"  Group  of  ten  figures  ;  the  centre  figure  is  Herodias  receiving 
the  Head  of  John  the  Baptist  on  a  charger." 

Canvass.     5  ft.  L.  by  4  ft.  4  in.  H. 

By  Abraham  Bloemaert : 

'■'■Small  LandscapCy  with  numerous  figures." 
Wood.     1  ft.  5  in.  L.  by  1  ft.  II. 
'■'■Small  Landscape,  companion  to  the  above." 
Wood.     Same  size. 

By  Cornelius  de  Heem : 
'■'■Fruit  and  Flowers." 
Canvass.     1  ft.  9  in.  L.  by  2  ft.  1  in.  H. 

By  Benito  Espinos  (Spanish) : 
'■'■  Flowers  ;  beautifully  painted." 
Wood.     2  ft.  L.  by  1  ft.  5  in.  H. 


62  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

By  De  Marne : 

'■'■Frevch  Landscape.  Arrival  of  the  Diligence  at  the  Gates 
of  a  Citijr     Cattle,  figures. 

Canvass.     2  ft.  L.  by  1  ft.  8  in.  H. 
By  Yanderlinck : 

'■'■Italian  Landscape,  with  Ancient  3Ionument" 

Canvass.     3  ft.  9  in.  L.  by  2  ft.  8  in.  H. 

'■'■  Landscape,  with  Cascade." 

Canvass.     5  ft.  4  in.  L.  by  3  ft.  9  in.  H. 
By  Natoire : 

'' Toilet  of  Venus." 

Canvass.     5  ft.  6  in.  L.  by  6  ft.  5  in.  H. 
By  Van  Oss : 

^^Flowers." 

Copper.     10  in.  L.  by  13  in.  H. 
By  Canaletti : 

"  View  of  London  "Bridge." 

Canvass.     3  ft.  8  in.  L.  by  1  ft.  9  in.  H. 
By  Gerard  Lairesse : 

"  Temptation  of  St.  Anthony." 

1  ft.  4  in.  L.  by  1  ft.  8  in.  H. 
By  Caspar  Poussin : 

'^Hich  Landscape." 

Canvass.     2  ft.  8  in.  L.  by  2  ft.  1  in.  H. 

'■'■Roman  Architecture." 

Canvass.     6  ft.  L.  by  4  ft.  H. 
By  Francis  Franck,  called  the  young  : 

"J.  Dutch  Fair.     Historical  Painting." 

"  The  Names  of  the  principal  Personages  represented  in 
it,  might  be  ascertained  from  the  Banner  and  Coat  of  Arms 
of  the  reigning  Duke  or  Prince,  which  are  very  distinct; 
numerous  figures  highly  finished." 

Canvass.     5  ft.  9  in.  L.  by  4  ft.  H. 

'■'■Landscape." 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  63 

By  Alexander  Adriansen : 

"jpVs/i  and  Dead  GameJ' 

Wood.     3  ft.  L.  by  2  ft.  3  in.  11. 

'•'■  Still  Life.    Chaffing  Dish,  with  fowl  on  it/ Flagons,  Gob- 
lets, Lemons,  &c." 

Wood.     3  ft.  L.  by  1  ft.  10  in.  H. 
By  Ruysdael : 

'■'■Rich  Wooded  Landscape..^* 

Wood.     2  ft.  10  in.  L.  by  2  ft.  H. 
By  M.  A.  Campidoglio : 

'■'■Rich  display  of  Fruit  and  Vegetables." 

Canvass.     5  ft.  L.  by  2  ft.  8  in.  H. 

"A  companion  to  the  above." 

By  Paret,  1786. 

^^ Landscape  ;  walled  City  in  the  distance.  Figures,  Sheep, 
&c.  in  the  foreground ;  a  charming  picture." 

Canvass.     3  ft.  10  in.  L.  by  2  ft.  5  in.  H. 
By  Berchem : 

^^Lizndscape,  Cattle  and  figures  by  fountain." 

Canvass.     4  ft.  4  in.  L.  by  3  ft.  2  in.  H. 
By  Peternerfs : 

'■'■Delivery  of  St.  Peto'from  Prison." 

Canvass.     2  ft.  6  in.  L.  by  1  ft.  8  in.  H. 
By  Sebastian  Del  Piombo : 

"  Visitation  of  St.  Anna." 

Canvass.     3  ft.  10  in.  L.  by  6  ft.  H. 
By  Philip  De  Champagne  : 

^^ 3Iassanissa  and  Sophonisba." 

Canvass.     5  ft.  2  in  L.  by  6  ft.  2  in.  H. 
By  Charles  Lebrun  : 

'■'■Daniel  defending  Susannah.     A  beautiful  composition." 

Canvass.     3  ft.  L.  by  4  ft.  H. 
By  Filippo  Hackerto,  1802. 

^^  Portrait  of  Pedro  the  favorite  Dog  of  Charles  the  Fourth — 
King  of  Spain. 


64  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

The  Dog  is  represented  pointing  at  a  large  Hare,  it  is  full 
of  life  and  the  foliage  is  beautifully  finished." 
By  Lawrence : 

"  View  of  the  old  Mansion^  the  Park,  and  the  Delaware  RiveTy 
beautifully  painted  for  the  late  Prince." 

School  of  Carracchi : 

'•'■Man  carrying  Sheep,  Old  Woman,  and  other  figures.'' 
Canvass.     3  ft.  3  in.  L.  by  2  ft.  9  in.  H. 

School  of  Guido. 

^'■Magdalen  and  two  Cupids.'' 

Canvass.  4  ft.  4  in.  L.  by  5  ft.  3  in.  H. 
Copy  from  Titian. 

'■'•Sleeping  Venus." 

Canvass.  5  ft.  4  in.  L.  by  3  ft.  5  in.  H. 
Copy. 

'■'•St.  Jerome,  and  Virgin  and  Child." 

Canvass.  4  ft.  6  in.  L.  by  6  ft.  5  in.  H. 
Copy. 

"  Virgin  and  Child,  with  the  palm." 

Canvass.     4  ft.  6  in.  L.  by  6  ft.  8  in.  H. 

Italian  School : 

'•'•Holg  Family,  with  Landscape  background." 

Canvass.     1  ft.  7  in.  L.  by  2  ft.  H. 

'•'•Moonlight  Landscape,  figures  in  foreground,  with  torch- 
light." 

Canvass.     3  ft.  10  in.  L.  by  2  ft.  8  in.  H. 

'■'■Sleeping  Female." 

Canvass.     3  ft.  L.  by  2  ft.  2  in.  H. 

'•'•  Landscaije,  Castle  on  the  Hill." 

Wood.     1  ft.  5  in.  L.  by  1  ft.  9  in.  H. 

'■'•Christ  Bound." 

Canvass.     10  in.  L.  by  1  ft.  3  in.  H. 

^'■Portrait  of  a  Boy  laughing." 

Canvass.     1  ft.  7  in.  L.  by  2  ft.  H. 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  65 

^^Architecture,  Colloiiade  near  the  Sea." 
Canvass.     5  ft.  1  in.  L.  by  2  ft.  9  in.  H. 
'''■  31artyrdo7n  of  St.  Cecelia." 
Canvass.     4  ft.  L.  by  3  ft.  High. 
^''liuins  of  the  Temple  of  Vesta,  at  Tivoli." 
Canvass.     1  ft.  6  in.  L.  by  1  ft.  9  in.  H. 
^'■Entrance  of  the  Queen  of  Austria  into  Mantua.    Triumphal 
procession,  numerous  figures  very  carefully  painted." 
Canvass.     5  ft.  6  in.  L.  by  3  ft.  9  in.  H. 
'''■Landscape." 

Canvass.     3  ft.  5  in  L.  by  4  ft.  H. 
"  Cupid  and  Fruit." 
Canvass.     5  ft.  6  in.  L.  by  4  ft.  H. 
"  Virgin  and  Oiild,  with  Fish;"  copy.     (Modern.) 
Canvass.     5  ft.  L.  by.  6  ft.  8  in.  H. 

Dutch  School. 

"  View  of  a  County  Palace." 
Wood.     1  ft.  2  in.  L.  by  1  ft.  H. 
^^ Small  Marine  View,  Calm." 
Wood.     1  ft.  2  in.  L.  by  10  in.  H. 

Flemish. 

^^ Landscape,  Horseman  and  Dog." 

Wood.     1  ft.  L.  by  1  ft.  4  in.  H. 

"OW  Bridge  and  Fisherman."  ■ 

Wood.     1  ft.  1  in.  L.  by  1  ft.  6  in.  H. 

Barn  Yard  Chickens  ^c." 

Canvass.     5  ft.  L.  by  4  ft.  H. 

"A  very  curious  old  Painting,  representing  a  Triumphal 
Entry  of  an  Eastern  Emperor." 

Canvass.     5  ft.  6  in.  L.  by  3  ft.  9  in.  H. 
French  School.     (Modern.) 

^^Landscape,  Sportsmen  with  Horsemen  and  Dogs." 

Canvass.     3  ft.  7  in.  L.  by  1  ft.  7  in.  H. 

Besides  the  splendid  collection  of  paintings,  the  Count 
5 


66  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

also  had  a  fine  collection  of  marbles  and  bronzes.  Among 
these  were : 

"  A  splendid  Medicii  Vase  of  Porphyre,  3  feet  1  inch 
high." 

"A  splendid  Medicii  Vase,  of  Porphyre,  3  feet  1  inch 
high  (damaged). 

Presented  to  the  late  owner  by  the  King  of  Sweden." 

"Antique  Bronze  Casting;  Stork  and  Frog,  from  Pom- 
peii." 

"Antique  Bronze  Casting;  Hawk  and  Animal,  from 
Pompeii." 

"Young  Diana  and  Hound;  a  splendid  piece  of  Sculpture, 
by  Bartolini;  3  feet  6  inches  high." 

"Female  Figure,  Roman  Dress,  3  feet  4  inches  high,  by 
Bosio." 

"Ceres,  to  match  the  above,  3  feet  4  inches  high,  by 
Bosio." 

"Marble  Bust,  Charles  Bonaparte,  father  of  Napoleon, 
by  Bartolini." 

"Marble  Bust,  Jerome  Bonaparte,  brother  of  Napoleon, 
by  Bartolini." 

"  Marble  Bust,  Louis  Bonaparte,  brother  of  Napoleon,  by 
Bartolini." 

"Marble  Bust,  Pauline,  sister  of  Napoleon,  by  Canova." 

"Marble  bust,  Eliza,  sister  of  Napoleon,  by  Canova." 

"Marble  Bust  of  the  Empress  Marie  Louise,  wife  of 
Napoleon,  by  Bozio." 

"Marble  Bust  of  Catherine,  Princess  of  Wirtemberg, 
wife  of  Jerome  Bonaparte,  by  Bozio." 

"Marble  Bust  of  Prince  Borghese,  husband  of  Princess 
Pauline,  sister  to  Napoleon,  by  Bartolini." 

"Marble  Bust  of  Prince  Bacciochi,  husband  of  Princess 
Eliza,  sister  to  Napoleon,  by  Bartolini." 

"Marble  Bust  (small)  of  the  young  Princess  Camerata, 
daughter  of  Eliza,  by  Canova." 

"  Marble  Bust,  Bacchus ;  by  Bosio." 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  67 

"  Marble  Bust,  Ariadne  ;  by  Bosio." 

"  A  large  Statue  of  Apollo.  Italian  marble,  beautifully 
executed,  by  Bartolini." 

Of  Canova — lie  was  called  from  Italy  by  tbe  Emperor 
Napoleon,  and  gave  France  some  of  her  choicest  sculptures. 
He  made  at  least  four  busts  of  the  Emperor.  One  of  these, 
in  white  marble,  standing  at  least  two  feet  in  height,  the 
Count  presented  to  M.  F.  La  Coste,  a  member  of  his  house- 
hold, and  afterwards  the  Consul-General  of  France  at  New 
York.  This  bust  is  now  the  property  of  Theodore  II. 
Conkling,  of  that  city.  A  duplicate  of  this  was  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  A  replica  in  colossal 
size  is  now  in  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art,  and 
another  is  in  the  possession  of  "The  Pennsylvania  Acad- 
emy of  the  Fine  Arts,"  at  Philadelphia. 

It  is  generally  believed,  but  we  have  some  doubts,  that 
Canova's  copy  of  the  statue  of  the  Princess  Pauline  was 
among  the  Count's  Park  collection.  Of  the  original,  Wil- 
liam John  Potts,  Esq.,  of  Camden,  New  Jersey,  in  a  recent 
letter  to  the  author,  writes:  "It  was  one  of  the  most 
exquisite  works  I  saw  at  the  Villa  Borghese,  near  Rome^ 
about  ten  years  ago.  It  was  in  the  palace,  with  many  other 
works  of  art,  and  belonged  to  the  family  of  the  Prince  Bor- 
ghese. It  is  that  known  as  Venus  Victrix,  a  full  length 
figure,  life  size,  upon  a  couch.  A  fine  photograph  in  my  pos- 
session brings  it  very  vividly  before  me.  The  face  and  the 
outlines  of  the  figure  are  exceedingly  graceful  and  elegant, 
and  the  features  those  of  a  woman  of  exquisite  beauty  and 
refinement,  and  the  whole  tone  in  an  eminent  degree  marks 
the  characteristics  of  Canova's  style ;  but  when  you  have 
said  that,  you  have  said  everything,  for  the  expression  is 
that  of  a  frivolous  and  shallow  person,  and  lacks  dignity 
and  expression.  The  beholder  is  led  to  believe  that  this  is 
not  the  fault  of  the  sculptor,  for  any  one  familiar  with  Can- 
ova's works  is  aware  that  their  merits  have  not  been  in  the 
least  exaggerated." 


68  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

Among  the  engravings  were : 

"  The  Crowning  of  Napoleon." 

"  Xapoleon  in  Imperial  Robes." 

"  Joseph,  King  of  Spain." 

"  Lucien  as  Senator." 

"  Serment  du  Jeu  de  Paume." 

"  The  Sepulchre,  after  Poussin." 

"Flight  into  Egypt, after  Claude." 

"  Acis  and  Galatea,  after  Claude." 

"Temple  of  Venus, after  Claude." 

"  Tempest,  after  Poussin." 

"  Landscape,  after  Poussin." 

"  Cascade  of  Tivoli  "—two. 

Amono^  the  other  articles  offered  for  sale  were  two  masr- 
nificent  candelabras,  of  five  lights  each,  with  bronze  figures, 
"  Bacconalian "  nymphs,  on  solid  stands  of  porphyr}-,  with 
embossed  gilt  ornaments — very  rich  and  expensive  works 
of  art,  from  the  palace  of  Luxembourg. 

A  magnificent  bronze  Urania  (the  muse  of  astronomy), 
with  sphere  and  time-piece,  stand  of  two  kinds  of  porphyry, 
the  red  and  gray — very  costly,  from  the  same  palace. 

A  royal  gobelin  medallion-figured  carpet,  in  one  piece, 
twenty-two  feet  six  inches,  by  twenty-nine  feet  four  inches, 
from  the  same  palace. 

A  very  handsome  mahogany  side-table,  with  gray  marble 
top  and  gilt  ornaments,  from  the  palace  of  the  ex-King  in 
France. 

A  mahogany,  French  bedstead,  with  gilt  ornaments  and 
canopy  top,  blue  worsted  damask  curtains,  fringe  and 
drapery. 

This  latter  was  the  Count's  bedstead,  and  is  now  the 
property  of  Miss  Maria  H.  Nutt.  Some  few  of  the  paint- 
ings and  engravings,  and  the  smaller  works  of  art,  with 
some  of  the  furniture,  are  now  owned  in  Bordentown. 

The  sale  of  this  magnificent  collection  of  pictures  and 
other    rare    works    of  art,    together    with    the    furniture. 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  69 

attracted  great  attention,  and  connoisseurs  and  curiosity- 
seekers  came  daily  by  scores  to  examine,  admire  and  criti- 
cise the  superb  collection.  A  throng  attended  on  the  day 
of  sale,  the  pictures  brought  their  full  value,  and  were 
distributed  all  over  the  country,  some  of  them  going  back 
again  to  European  galleries.  The  furniture  brought  fabu- 
lous prices,  the  strife  among  bidders  being  the  desire  to 
obtain  some  article  that  belonged  to  Joseph  Bonaparte,  to  be 
cherished  as  an  invaluable  relic. 


70  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Count  and  the  Citizens — Reminiscences  of  Bellemere,  Carman, 
Thorn  and  Wood — His  Household — Judge  Elmer's  Interesting 
Account — General  Bernard — Dr.  Sprague — The  State  Survey — 
Charlotte  and  Captain  Mickle. 

THE  COUNT  was  a  great  benefit  to  Bordentown,  and 
gave  the  first  great  impulse  to  the  place.  Besides  liber- 
ally patronizing  the  shops,  he  gave  employment  to  all  who 
asked  for  it.  Each  one  was  required  to  furnish  his  own 
tools.  The  road  along  the  park  was  graded  and  kept  in  a 
perfect  state  of  repair.  The  grounds  were  leveled  or  raised, 
bushes  or  stumps  grubbed  out,  trees  planted  by  the  hun- 
dreds, roads  and  paths  built  and  the  ground  thoroughly 
underdraincd,  and,  with  his  constant  and  various  improve- 
ments, he  found  work  for  all.  Very  much  of  the  work  he 
superintended  in  person.  If  he  designated  any  particular 
job  for  a  man  to  do,  even  if  it  occupied  but  one  hour,  he 
expected  him  to  remain  at  the  spot  until  meal-time,  if  not 
directed  to  report  at  some  other  point.  While  he  was  not 
exacting  of  the  men,  nothing  did  he  dislike  more  than  a 
lazy  or  slow  man,  he  wishing  all  to  be  sprightly,  ready  and 
willing.  lie  always  paid  most  liberal  wages;  cash  each 
day,  and  in  hard  money.  Upon  Christmas  he  presented 
each  employe  with  a  sum  of  money  varying  from  a  quarter 
eagle  to  an  eagle.  He  was  always  most  charitable  to  the 
poor.  He  often  said  he  never  had  an  American  to  ask  him 
for  money ;  it  was  always  work.  The  Count  was  very  good 
to  the  citizens  of  the  town,  and  allowed  them  all  the  privi- 
leges of  his  park,  and,  in  winter,  of  the  lake.  When  the 
skating  was  fine,  he  and  his  household  would  come  down  to 
the  shore  to  see  the  sport,  and  it  was  one  of  his  greatest 
pleasures  to  roll  apples  and  oranges  over  the  ice  to  see  the 
skaters  scamper  after  them. 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  71 

Philip  Belleraere,  who  now  resides  in  Bordentowr  ,  came 
over  to  Philadelphia  in  1816,  when  he  was  ten  years  old, 
and,  in  1827,  was  taken  into  the  Count's  household  as  bar- 
ber, and  remained  with  him  until  a  short  time  before  he 
returned  to  Europe.  lie  shaved  and  dressed  the  hair  of 
the  Count,  his  immediate  family  and  guests,  and  probably 
attended  on  more  distinguished  foreigners  than  any  one  in 
the  country.  In  a  conversation  with  him  he  stated  :  "  The 
Count  was  a  splendid  man,  and  looked  like  his  brother, 
the  grand  Napoleon,  only  he  was  taller  and  stouter  during 
the  last  years  of  -his  life.  He  wore  his  face  smooth  shaven 
and  his  hair  cut  close  and  brushed  down  over  his  forehead, 
like  the  Emperor.  He  was  rather  reserved,  always  kind  to 
his  servants,  but  never  familiar.  He  entertained  hand- 
somely, and  all  the  distinguished  Frenchmen  who  came  to 
this  country  were  his  guests.  La  Fayette,  Moreau  and 
many  of  the  foreign  ministers  were  there.  He  drew  around 
him  many  of  the  exiles  from  France,  who,  having  followed 
the  fortunes  of  the  great  Emperor,  came  to  seek  a  refuge  in 
America.  Clauzel,  Lallemand,  Desmonettes  and  other  dis- 
tinguished Frenchmen  received  constant  proofs  of  the  good- 
ness of  his  heart.  All  the  great  men  of  this  country  w^ere 
there  also.  Among  these  were  Clay,  Webster,  Adams, 
General  Scott,  Comniodores  Stewart  and  Stockton.  Henry 
Clay,  who  spent  several  days  with  the  Count,  left  his  cane 
there.     It  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Thorn. 

"The  Count  never  alluded  to  himself  or  his  past  history, 
but  sometimes  spoke  of  his  great  brother,  the  Emperor, 
and  always  with  feeling.  He  maintained  the  same  domestic 
habits  as  in  former  years.  Like  all  the  Bonapartes,  he  rose 
early,  and  did  his  work  in  the  morning.  In  winter  he  arose 
between  seven  and  eight  o'clock,  when  coffee  and  toast 
were  brought  to  his  room.  He  remained  in  his  library, 
engaged  in  reading  and  writing,  until  eleven,  when  he  met 
his  friends  at  breakfast,  which  usually  occupied  half  an 
hour.      He  then  generally  w^ent  over  his  grounds.      He 


72  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

lunched  at  two,  dined  at  seven  or  eight,  and  supped  at  ten. 
Dinner  was  the  principal  meal  of  the  day,  and  his  tahle  was 
almost  sure  to  be  surrounded  by  distinguished  guests. 
Prince  Charles  and  Zenaide  always  dined  with  him.  His 
manners  were  full  of  grace,  elegance  and  blandness;  his 
heart  was  full  of  human  feelings;  his  mind  w^as  well  bal- 
anced, and  all  his  views  of  life  were  moderate  and  cheerful. 
Wherever  he  was  known,  he  was  respected;  and  those  who 
loved  him  once,  loved  him  always." 

Mr.  Bellemere  is  a  pleasant  old  Frenchman  of  about  sev- 
enty-three years  of  age.  He  keeps  a  toy- store  in  Borden- 
town,  in  which  can  be  found  almost  everything  in  that  line. 
He  is  a  great  favorite  of  the  juveniles,  and  is  noted  for  his 
fair  and  frank  dealings. 

The  Count  was  a  great  favorite  with  the  people.  A  great 
many  persons  now  living  knew  him  by  sight,  and  have 
spoken  with  him.  Alexander  D.  Carman,  when  a  boy  of 
twelve  years  old,  was  employed  by  him  as  a  messenger,  and 
continued  in  his  service  for  some  years.  In  the  fall  the 
Count  used  to  go  out  every  morning  before  breakfast  to 
hunt  for  rabbit-traps  that  town-boys  set  in  the  Park.  Upon 
such  occasions  Carman  went  along  to  crawl  under  bushes 
and  through  the  shrubbery,  where  the  Count  could  not  go. 
The  traps,  when  brought  to  the  Count,  he  broke  to  pieces 
with  a  hatchet.  This  he  always  carried  in  his  hand  in  his 
rambles  through  the  park,  and  used  to  lop  off  branches 
from  the  trees.  Frequently  he  was  accompanied  by  work- 
men, who  carried  a  pole  of  a  fixed  length,  and  trimmed  all 
the  trees  up  to  its  height. 

The  late  Anthony  Thorn,  who  rented  one  of  the  Count's 
farms,  was  made  by  him  game-keeper.  One  day  he  ordered 
oft'  one  of  the  Count's  employes,  but  he  refused  to  go, 
stating  he  had  permission  from  the  Count  to  gun.  Directly 
afterwards  the  Count  came  along,  and  hearing  the  report 
of  a  gun,  chided  Anthony  for  permitting  trespassing. 
"  But,"  said  Anthony,  "  he  is  one  of  your  folks,  and  says  he 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  73 

has  your  permission."  "I  have  no  folks,"  said  the  Count, 
"  I  am  everybody,  and  in  the  future  allow  no  one  to  gun  on 
these  premises  but  Mr.  Mailliard."  A  few  days  afterward 
Prince  Murat  and  two  or  three  companions  were  hunting, 
and  Anthony  warned  them  off.  The  Prince  claimed  the 
right  to  gun  on  his  uncle's  lands,  but  Anthony  was  firm, 
repeating  the  Count's  orders  in  regard  to  Mr.  Mailliard. 
The  Prince  complained  to  his  uncle,  who  upheld  Mr. 
Thorn,  but  gave  the  Prince  permission  to  gun  on  him  in 
the  future.  Each  Christmas  the  Count  sent  Mr.  Thorn  a 
gold  eagle  as  a  present. 

,  The  late  John  Wood,  Sr.,  born  on  the  bluffs  bordering 
the  Park,  who,  for  over  forty  years,  was  in  the  employment 
of  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  Company,  stationed  at 
the  shops  below  Bordentown,  honest,  poor,  respected  and 
trusted  by  the  citizens,  to  whom  he  was  well  known,  stated 
to  the  author,  that  he  remembered  well  the  Count's  first 
visit  to  the  Park.  It  was  in  the  year  1816,  when  he  came 
to  view  his  contemplated  purchase.  After  going  over  the 
ground  and  examining  the  roads  of  the  neighborhood,  he 
engaged  John,  then  a  lad  of  fifteen,  and  his  brother 
Thomas,  to  row  him  and  Louis  Mailliard  up  the  Crosswicks 
creek,  to  view  the  water-front,  with  which  he  seemed  much 
pleased.  Upon  another  occasion,  when  rowing  Joseph 
upon  the  creek,  they  met  two  sloops,  laden  with  wood, 
bound  to  Philadelphia.  He  inquired  of  the  masters  if  they 
would  sell  their  loads,  and,  receiving  an  aflirmative  answer, 
he  directed  them  to  unload  near  his  house.  Coal  was  not 
then  used,  and  he  purchased  all  his  fuel,  as  he  would  not 
allow  any  trees  to  be  cut  on  his  property.  Soon  after  this, 
John  came  along  one  day  to  where  Joseph  was  building  a 
bulkhead  along  the  creek.  lie  asked  him  if  he  wanted 
work,  and  upon  John's  telling  him  he  did,  the  Count  set 
him  to  raking  leaves,  at  which  he  continued  until  winter 
set  in.  During  the  winter  John  was  employed  in  sorting 
chestnuts,  nuts,  apples,  etc.     All  were  placed  on  shelves  so 


74  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

as  not  to  touch  one  another.  The  cellars  were  nicely 
finished,  and  heated  with  stoves. 

The  Count's  family  consisted  of  M.  Louis  Mailliard  his 
confidential  friend,  and  Adolph  Mailliard  his  son ;  M. 
France  La  Coste,  who  was  subsequently  appointed  Consul- 
General  of  France,  and  who  died  in  New  York,  November 
14th,  1853;*  his  wife,  Mme.  La  Coste,  who  was  a  great 
beauty,  and  their  little  boy,  Leo ;  William  Thibaud,  after- 
wards manager  of  the  Fesch  Gallery,  in  Rome,  and  his 
daughter,  a  most  fascinating  young  lady,  now  married  to 
M.  Hughes,  of  Paris.f 

In  "Beecher's  Magazine"  for  January,  1872,  Judge 
Lucius  Q.  C.  Elmer  published  an  article  entitled,  "  General 
Bernard  and  Joseph  Bonaparte."  In  December,  1823,  an 
act  was  passed,  by  the  legislature  of  New  Jersey,  appoint- 
ing Lucius  Q.  C.  Elmer,  Peter  Kean  and  George  Holcombe, 
"Commissioners  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the  practi- 
cability and  expediency  of  a  canal  to  unite  the  tide-waters 
of  the  Delaware  and  Raritan  rivers."  There  was,  at  that 
time,  a  board  of  engineers,  organized  by  virtue  of  a  special 
act  of  Congress,  as  a  Board  of  Internal  Improvements. 
This  board  came  into  New  Jersey,  and,  in  conjunction  with 
the  state  board,  made  a  hasty  examination  of  the  route 
previously  surveyed,  in  1816,  by  a  state  commission,  under 
John  Randel,  Jr.  The  final  result  of  this  examination  was, 
that  the  plan  of  making  the  canal  a  state  or  national  work 
was  abandoned,  and,  in  1830,  the  Delaware  and  Raritan 
Canal  Company  was  incorporated,  who,  mainly  through  the 
energy  of  Commodore  Stockton,  constructed  the  existing 
work. 

The  board  of  United  States  Engineers  consisted  of  Gen- 
eral Simon  Bernard,  specially  appointed  as  its  head,  with 
the  rank  and  pay  of  a  Brigadier-General,  Lieutenant-Col- 


•  Theodore  H.  Conklin,  New  York, 
t  A.  Mailliard,  California. 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  75 

onel  Joseph  G.  Totten,  of  the  Engineer  Corps,  and  John  L. 
Sullivan,  of  Boston,  a  civil  engineer, 

"General  Barnard,  "says  Judge  Elmer,  "was  a  distin- 
guished military  engineer  in  the  army  of  Napoleon,  having 
the  brevet  rank  of  Lieutenant-General,  as  one  of  his  aids, 
in  which  capacity  he  acted  at  the  battle  of  Waterloo.  Upon 
the  downfall  of  Napoleon,  he  came  over  to  the  United  States, 
about  the  year  1816,  and  about  the  same  time  that  Joseph 
Bonaparte  came.  Napoleon,  it  will  be  remembered,  also 
attem[)ted  to  escape  to  this  country,  but  was  prevented  and 
oidiged  to  go  on  board  the  '  Bellerophon,'  a  British  ship-of- 
the-line,  on  wliich"  (the  Northumberland)  "he  was  carried 
to  the  island  of  St.  Helena,  where  he  died.  Bernard  came 
with  the  highest  testimonials  of  merit,  and,  it  was  stated, 
had  declined  flattering  overtures  from  some  of  the  Euro- 
pean sovereigns.  He  was  the  first,  and,  until  the  late  war, 
was  the  only  foreign  officer  admitted  to  the  military  service 
of  the  United  States  after  the  Revolutionary  war,  although 
a  Col.  Foncine,  an  officer  of  engineers,  who  was  among 
the  emigrants  from  France,  in  1793,  was  employed  for  a 
short  time  in  the  construction  of  one  of  the  forts  in  the 
harbor  of  Boston.  ***** 

"During  the  twelve  or  fifteen  years  that  the  General 
remained  as  the  head  of  our  corps  of  engineers,  the  board 
surveyed  and  made  a  report  of  a  military  road  from  Wash- 
ington to  New  Orleans,  and  planned  a  system  of  fortifica- 
tions for  the  general  defence  of  the  country. 

"  Soon  after  Louis  Phillippe  became  King,  Bernard 
returned  to  France,  and  was  soon  taken  into  the  military 
famil}'  of  the  King  as  one  of  the  aids.  In  1836  he  was 
placed  in  the  cabinet  as  secretary  of  war. 

"  The  Rev.  Dr.  Sprague,  who  visited  Paris  in  1836, 
remarks  in  his  work  entitled  'Visits  to  European  Celebri- 
ties': 'I  spent  an  hour  with  General  Bernard.  He  had  been 
80  long  in  this  country  that  he  seemed  to  have  somewhat  of 
the  American  feeling — at  least  he  made  intelligent  inquiries 


76  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

on  various  subjects  concerning  the  United  States,  on  all  of 
which  he  seemed  at  home.  A  friend,  who  was  on  intimate 
terms  with  him,  called  with  me,  and  he  received  us  in  his 
study,  sans  eeremonie,  and  apparently  with  much  cordiality. 
As  we  rose  to  come  away,  after  sitting  with  him  a  consider- 
able length  of  time,  he  said  that  I  must  not  go  until  I  had 
seen  his  family,  and  immediately  took  me  into  the  parlor 
and  presented  me  to  his  wife  and  daughters,  whom  I  found 
exceedingly  agreeable  ladies,  and  all  speaking  English  as 
readily  as  I  could  speak  it  myself.  They  had  quite  the 
appearance  of  an  American  family,  and  were  glad  of  an 
opportunity  to  inquire  for  their  friends  in  this  countr\', 
many  of  whom  were  personally  known  to  me.  General 
Bernard  was  a  tine  specimen  of  a  French  gentleman,  and 
everything  about  his  family  bespoke  the  highest  degree  of 
refinement.' 

"He  died  in  1839,  while  still  secretary  of  war.  When 
the  news  of  his  death  was  received  in  this  country,  it  was 
b}'  a  general  order  of  the  war  department  announced  to 
the  array  and  people,  in  terms  of  high  commendation  and 
respect." 

Among  the  attaches  to  the  board  was  a  Captain  Poussin, 
also  from  France,  then  holding  the  rank  of  Captain  in  the 
United  States  Corps  of  Topographical  Engineers.  Poussin 
returned  to  France  with  General  Bernard  after  Louis 
Phillippe  became  King,  and  upon  his  overthrow  in  1848 
was  sent  by  the  Provisional  Government  as  minister  to  the 
United  States,  While  holding  this  appointment  he  had 
the  misfortune  to  displease  Mr.  Clayton,  our  secretary  of 
state,  by  some  incautious  language,  and  was  dismissed  or 
withdrawn. 

Judge  Elmer  being  the  head  of  the  state  commission,  it 
fell  to  his  lot  to  be  specially  associated  with  General  Bernard, 
and  they  were  together  four  or  five  days  at  Trenton  and  its 
vicinity,  in  the  month  of  October,  1824,  exploring  the 
country    on    horseback.      Speaking    of   their   movements, 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  77 

Judge  Elmer  says :  "  Having  explored  the  feeder,  we  rode 
down  to  Bordentown.  Upon  our  route  to  that  place,  as  we 
approached  the  residence  of  Joseph  Bonaparte,  who  then 
occupied  the  houses  on  the  road  (originally  designed  for 
stables)  his  mansion  on  the  point  having  been  accidentally 
burned,  I  remarked  to  him  that  I  supposed  he  would  take 
tJie  opportunity  to  have  an  interview  with  the  Count  (as 
Joseph  was  then  spoken  of,  he  having  assumed  the  title  of 
Count  de  Survilliers,  from  the  name  of  a  place  he  owned  in 
France).  He  replied  that  his  engagements  would  prevent 
his  having  that  pleasure.  But  as  we  came  in  front  of  the 
house  it  happened  that  a  carriage  was  drawn  up  in  the  yard, 
and  the  Count  was  in  the  act  of  entering  it.  Seeing  this 
the  General  excused  himself,  left  his  horse,  and  we  went  on 
to  the  town,  where  the  otber  gentlemen  were  awaiting  us. 
After  the  delay  of  an  hour  or  more,  the  General  joined  us, 
and  brought  with  him  an  invitation  to  the  whole  corps  to 
dine  with  the  Count  at  five  o'clock.  About  half  of  us, 
including,  of  course,  the  General,  accepted  the  invitation, 
and  after  dining  were  kept  all  night,  retiring  to  their 
apartments,  as  I  understood,  as  early  as  nine  o'clock,  and 
were  served  in  the  morning  with  coffee,  &c.,  in  their  rooms. 
I  had  been  riding  in  the  dust  two  or  three  days,  without 
any  chance  of  changing  my  dress,  and  although  about  in 
the  same  plight  as  the  others,  declined  to  present  myself, 
as  did  Colonel  Totten. 

"I  regretted  this  the  less  because,  during  the  previous 
year,  I  had,  in  company-  with  another  gentleman,  paid  my 
respects  to  the  Count  by  calling  on  him,  as  I  understood 
was  agreeable  to  him.  He  received  us  in  such  a  manner  as 
showed  that  our  visit  was  not  displeasing  to  him.  The 
reception-room  into  which  we  were  ushered  was  orna- 
mented with  many  elegant  paintings,  comprising  some 
of  the  master-pieces  of  old  Spanish  painters,  and  two  full- 
length  portraits  of  himself  and  his  wife  in  their  robes  as 
King  and  Queen  of  Naples.     The  Queen  never  came  to 


78  BONAPABTE'S  PARK. 

America,  but  both  of  his  daughters  were  with  him,  at  dif- 
ferent times,  several  years.  He  took  us  into  several  apart- 
ments, showed  us  many  busts  and  other  mementoes  of 
Napoleon,  and  introduced  us  to  his  youngest  daughter, 
Charlotte,  who  had  recently  come  over  in  a  ship  com- 
manded by  the  late  Captain  Mickle,  of  Camden.  He 
showed  us  a  book  containing  several  of  her  drawings,  made 
on  the  passage,  with  pencil  or  crayon.  Among  them  was  a 
representation  of  the  '  ship's  cabin,'  and  a  half-length  of  a 
gentleman  sitting  with  a  book  in  his  hand,  which  he 
appeared  to  be  reading.  At  the  bottom  was  written,  '  Capt. 
Mickle,  reading  Hervey's  Meditations.'  The  Count  spoke 
imperfect  English,  and  was,  like  most  of  his  familj^  a  very 
handsome  man.  He  left  the  country  some  thirty  or  more 
years  ago,  and  died  in  Italy.  The  young  lady  we  saw, 
married  her  cousin,  a  son  of  Louis  and  brother  of  Louis 
Napoleon  HI,  but  he  died  in  1831.  His  other  daughter, 
whose  name  was  Zenaide,  a  very  handsome  lady,  married 
her  cousin,  Charles  Bonaparte,  son  of  Lucien.  I  saw  her 
more  than  once,  with  her  children,  when  she  rode  up  to 
Trenton  with  her  father. 

"  Captain  Mickle,  when  young,  it  will  be  remembered  by 
those  who  knew  him,  was  a  fine  specimen  of  an  American 
gentleman,  who  never  married.  The  young  lady,  it  used 
to  be  said,  was  quite  captivated  by  his  good  looks.  Upon 
leaving  the  ship,  she  presented  him  with  a  handsome 
diamond  breast-pin,  besides  leaving  him  all  the  unused  fine 
wines  that  had  been  laid  in  amons:  her  stores." 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.^  79 


CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Two  Visits  of  Lafayette  —  The  Crown  of  Mexico  Offered  to 
Joseph — Visit  of  Louis  Napoleon — Of  a  Family — Their  Opin- 
ion OF  Pauline  —  Sketch  of  Pauline. 

IX  1824,  when  Lafayette  was  the  nation's  guest,  he  vis- 
ited the  Count  at  the  Park.  This  visit  seems  some- 
what remarkable,  when  we  remember  the  Emperor  Napo- 
leon spoke  thus  of  the  Marquis,  in  his  will  written  at 
St,  Ilelena :  "  6.  The  two  unfortunate  results  of  the  inva- 
sions of  France,  when  she  had  still  so  many  resources,  are 
to  be  attributed  to  the  treason  of  Marmont,  Angereau, 
Talleyrand  and  La  Fayette."  The  treason,  it  must  be 
remembered,  was  to  the  Emperor,  not  France. 

Joseph  left  the  Park  in  a  very  large  and  handsome 
sixteen-oar  barge  presented  to  him  by  Stephen  Girard. 
Proceeding  down  the  Delaware,  accompanied  by  some 
distinguished  guests,  they  met  the  Marquis  just  above 
Philadelphia,  on  his  way  up  on  a  steamboat.  The  Count 
and  his  friends  boarded  the  steamer  to  welcome  Lafayette, 
and  the  barge  was  taken  in  tow.  Arriving  opposite  Bor- 
dentown,  they  all  entered  the  barge  and  proceeded  up  the 
Crosswicks  to  the  Park  landing.  Speaking  of  this  visit, 
"  The  Berkeley  Men,"  in  "  The  Napoleon  Dynasty,"  page 
391,  say:  "On  that  occasion  (Joseph  says) ■  Lafayette  ex- 
pressed to  him  his  regret  at  the  part  he  had  taken  in  1815, 
in  eftecting  the  restoration  of  the  Bourbons,  and  observed, 
*  The  Bourbon  dynasty  cannot  last!  It  too  openly  wounds 
the  national  feeling.  In  France  we  are  all  persuaded  that 
the  son  of  the  Emperor  alone  can  represent  all  the  interests 
of  the  Revolution.  Place  two  million  at  the  disposal  of 
our  committee  (in  Paris),  and  I  promise  you  that,  with  this 
sum,  in  two  years.  Napoleon  II  will  be  on  the  throne  of 
France.'     Joseph    thought  the   means  inadequate    to   the 


80  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

object  to  be  attained,  and  did  not  accept  the  proposition  of 
Lafayette." 

Lafayette  before  returning  to  France  made  a  second 
visit  to  the  Park.  He  had  been  staying  with  General 
Moreau  at  Trenton,  and  came  down  with  his  suite,  by  the 
White  Horse  bridge.  He  rode  in  an  open  barouche,  with 
his  son,  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  and  another  gentle- 
man. It  was  drawn  by  four  cream-colored  horses.  Mr. 
Andrew  Quintin,  of  Trenton,  states  he  was  a  little  boy  at 
the  time,  but  well  remembered  being  brought  out  to  look 
at  the  grand  cavalcade,  as  his  father.  Major  Quintin,  was 
one  of  the  military  escorts  of  the  Bucks  County  Light 
Horse,  wiio  accompanied  the  party  down  the  Pennsylvania 
side.  The  volunteers  were  set  down  to  a  handsome  dinner. 
The  Marquis  and  Count  rode  around  the  town  together  in 
a  barouche  drawn  by  four  horses,  followed  by  a  crowd  of 
citizens,  who  cheered  them.  Lafayette  spent  one  night  at 
the  Park.  M.  Sarrans,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Revolution 
of  1830,"  published  an  interesting  and  very  honorable 
correspondence  between  Joseph  and  Lafayette. 

It  Avas  at  the  Park  that  the  Count  received  a  proposition, 
which  surprised  as  much  as  it  must  have  attected  him.  A 
deputation  from  Mexico  came  to  offer  him  the  crown  of  that 
nation.  They  had  landed  in  l^ew  York,  and  came  in  stage- 
coaches to  Bordentown.  Says  "The  Napoleon  Dynasty," 
page  390  :  "  He  replied  to  the  deputation  :  '  I  have  worn 
two  crowns ;  I  would  not  take  a  step  to  wear  a  third.  Noth- 
ing can  gratify  me  more  than  to  see  men  who  would  not 
recognize  my  authority  when  I  was  at  Madrid,  now  come  to 
seek  me  in  exile;  but  I  do  not  think  that  the  throne  you 
wish  to  raise  again  can  make  you  happy.  Every  day  I  pass 
in  this  hospitable  land  proves  more  clearly  to  me  the  excel- 
lence of  republican  institutions  for  America.  Keep  them 
as  a  precious  gift  from  heaven;  settle  your  internal  commo- 
tions ;  follow  the  example  of  the  United  States ;  and  seek 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  81 

among  your  fellow-citizens  a  man  more  capable  than  I  am 
of  acting  the  great  part  of  Washington.'  " 

A  grand  ball  was  given  to  the  delegation  before  their 
departure. 

Prince  Louis  Napoleon,  afterwards  JTapoleon  III,  brother- 
in-law  of  Joseph's  daughter  Charlotte,  spent  several  months 
in  America,  in  the  spring  of  1837.  This  was  after  the 
"insurrection"  at  Strausbourgh,  where  the  Prince  was 
arrested  and  sent  into  exile,  a  French  frigate  conveying  him 
to  Rio  Janeiro,  and  thence  to  New  York.  It  was  expected 
that  the  Prince  would  have  remained  in  this  country  for 
several  years,  and  he  was  about  starting  on  an  extended 
tour  of  the  continent,  when  he  received  a  letter  from  his 
mother,  Ilortense,  ex-Queen  of  Holland,  announcing  she 
was  about  to  undergo  a  dangerous  operation,  which  caused 
him  at  once  to  return  to  Europe,  and  hasten  to  the  bedside 
of  his  dying  mother.  During  his  exile,  as  is  generally 
believed,  he  lived  in  pecuniary  embarrassment.  This  was 
occasioned,  however,  not  so  much  from  his  want  of  means, 
as  from  the  fact  that  he  was  a  Prince,  with  princely  ideas. 
"With  all  his  poverty^  he  managed  to  dress  elegantly,  enjoy 
his  champagne  and  Havana,  and  keep  a  servant.  He  could 
not  branch  out  into  the  magnificent  as  in  Europe,  as  one 
dollar  there  went  as  far  as  three  here.    . 

The  Prince  spent  a  short  time  with  his  uncle  at  the  Park, 
and  his  visit  is  well  remembered  by  several  of  the  citizens 
of  Bordentown.  He  was  at  that  time,  by  the  will  of  his 
uncle,  the  great  Napoleon,  the  heir  apparent  to  the  French 
throne,  the  Duke  de  Reichstadt,  Napoleon's  only  sou,  and 
Napoleon  Louie,  Grand  Duke  of  Cleves  and  Berg,  Louis 
Napoleon's  eldest  brother,  and  son-in-law  of  Joseph,  having 
died.  Joseph,  who  had  disapproved  of  his  propensity 
to  hasty  action  in  trying  to  accelerate  events,  had  become 
satisfied  as  to  his  views  of  the  future,  and  the  Prince  was 
fully  restored  to  his  confidence  and  affection.  It  is  said 
6 


82  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

that  Joseph  presented  him  with  ^20,000  while  he  was  in 
this  country. 

N'apoleon,  while  in  captivity  at  St.  Helena,  made  an 
appeal  to  his  family,  that  each  memher  should  contribute 
towards  his  requir'ed  wants,  and  Joseph  unhesitatingly 
offered  him  his  whole  fortune. 

Joseph  participated  in  the  deep  grief  felt  by  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  family  when  the  intelligence  of  the  death  of 
Napoleon  was  received.  The  son  of  the  deceased  Emperor, 
the  Duke  de  Reichstadt,  was  still  in  captivit}',  and  Joseph 
asked  permission  of  the  Court  of  Austria  to  visit  him,  but 
Metternich  refused  the  request. 

The  grounds  of  the  Park  were  open  to  visitors  at  all 
times,  and  any  proper  person,  no  matter  how  humble,  that 
called  at  the  mansion,  was  kindly  shown  through  it  by  a 
servant,  and  allowed  to  inspect  the  many  works  of  art  and 
interest  it  contained.  Besides  the  numerous  distinguished 
guests,  the  Count  entertained  a  number  of  the  citizens  of 
Bordentown,  and  of  the  country,  who,  with  less  pretensions 
to  elegance  of  dress,  were  received  with  a  kind  hospitality. 
The  author  in  his  boyhood  often  heard  his  mother  relate  a 
visit  she  made  with  his  grandfather's  family  to  the  Park. 
It  had  been  intimated  to  them  that  a  visit  would  be  agree- 
able to  the  Count.  It  was  winter,  and  the  sleigh  drove  up 
to  the  door.  Servants  soon  appeared  with  a  roll  of  carpet 
to  protect  their  feet  from  the  snow.  Entering  the  massive 
doorway,  they  found  a  number  of  servants  on  either  side  of 
the  hall.  These  being  dressed  in  black  broadcloth,  with 
white  gloves,  vests  and  neck-ties,  of  a  liner  material  than 
worn  by  themselves,  and  being  adorned  with  mustaches  and 
long  beards,  then  worn  only  by  foreigners,  they  in  their 
rustic  simplicity  at  first  supposed  they  were  French  Counts, 
but  the  respectful  bows  soon  dissipated  this  impression. 
Being  shown  into  a  dressing-room,  a  number  of  servants 
assisted  in  removing  their  great-coats,  &c.,  and  soon  it  was 
announced  that  the  Count  awaited  them  in  the  drawing- 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  88 

room.  Upon  entering  he  advanced  and  received  them  with 
groat  cordiality  and  pleasure,  and  soon,  much  to  the  sur- 
prise and  satisfaction  of  the  younger  members  of  the  party, 
they  felt  perfectly  at  ease.  After  a  pleasant  conversation, 
he  invited  them  to  accompany  him  over  his  house.  The 
magnificent  furniture,  laces  and  tapestry,  and  rare  works  of 
art,  appeared  to  their  unaccustomed  eye  in  great  splendor. 
Among  the  wonderful  things  they  saw  were  those  rare  gems 
of  art,  the  full-length  portrait  of  Pauline,  Joseph's  sister, 
a  statue  of  the  "  Infant  Napoleon  sleeping,"  and  several 
others  of  a  similar  style.  Upon  the  points  and  beauties  of 
these  the  Count  dilated  with  great  enthusiasm.  •  It  could 
hardly  be  supposed  in  those  primitive  days  that  rustics 
would  be  educated  up  to  that  fine  point  of  admiring  art 
solely  for  art's  sake,  and  although  they  appreciated  the 
motto,  "  Evil  to  him  who  evil  thinks,"  they  were  privately 
of  the  opinion  that  Miss  Pauline  was  an  outrageous 
jade.  Returning  to  the  drawing-room,  refreshments  were 
announced  and  they  entered  the  large  dining-room.  Here 
was  spread  a  luxurious  table  of  cakes,  confections,  creams, 
jellies,  fruits,  wines,  &c.,  while  on  a  side-table  was  cofl^ee, 
chocolate  and  tea.  Upon  their  departure  the  Count  pre- 
sented to  one  of  the  ladies  a  pair  of  drop  cumeo  filigree 
earrings,  upon  which  was  cut  a  profile  likeness  of  Pauline. 
Some  time  afterwards,  upon  due  notice,  to  the  wonder  of  the 
neighbors  and  consternation  of  the  famil}',  the  Count,  witli 
his  whole  household  and  retinue,  in  several  carriasres, 
returned  the  visit  at  Rural  Park.  Isaac  Field,  who  was  a 
supercargo  in  the  East  India  trade,  had  presented  to  his 
father-in-law  a  full-sized  bust  of  Helena,  which  stood  on  a 
pedestal  in  the  dining-rooni.  One  of  the  ladies  of  the 
family  very  carefully  covered  the  breast  up  with  a  light 
shawl  and  invited  the  Count  and  his  party  into  their  "statue 
gallery"  to  view  it,  which  caused  much  merriment,  the 
Count  enjoying  the  hit  heartily. 
Pauline,  the  Princess  Borghese,  married  first  General 


84  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

LeClerc,  a  man  of  brilliant  genius,  who  \youlcl  doubtless 
have  adorned  the  most  splendid  period  of  Napoleon's 
empire.  Commanding  the  expedition  to  St.  Domingo,  he 
fell  a  victim  to  the  climate.  Pauline  at  once  returned  to 
France,  depositing  her  treasures  in  the  triple  coffin  which 
carried  her  dead  husband  to  his  native  country.  Emerg- 
ing from  the  gloom  of  the  voyage  into  the  voluptuous 
pleasures  of  the  French  Capital,  the  gayety  she  displayed 
gave  rise  to  frequent  remark.  The  "American  C\-clop9e- 
dia,"  vol.  3,  pages  25  and  26,  says  of  her:  "She  had  no 
advantage  of  education,  but  was  remarkably  brilliant  and 
beautiful."  Her  second  husband,  an  Italian,  Prince  CamillcT 
Borghese,  almost  immediately  separated  from  her,  he  sus- 
pecting her  virtue,  and  only  became  reconciled  to  her  in  her 
illness,  towards  the  end  of  her  life.  "  Napoleon  doted 
upon  Pauline,  and  made  her  duchess  of  Guastalla ;  but  he 
rebuked  her  excessive  jealousy  of  Josephine,  and  resented 
her  rudeness  to  Marie  Louise,  by  banishing  her  from  his 
court.  She  nevertheless  led  a  gay  life  in  the  vicinity  of 
Paris,  and,  subsequently  at  Nice,  gathered  round  her  many 
fashionable  people  of  easy  virtue."  She  was  devoted  to 
her  brother  Napoleon  when  fate's  decree  overshadowed  him, 
and  sent  to  him  all  her  diamonds  and  valuables,  which  were 
captured  by  the  British  after  Waterloo.  She  sought  per- 
mission to  join  him  at  St.  Helena,  which  request  Lord  Liv- 
erpool granted.  But  it  came  too  late — Napoleon  was  dead. 
She  died  at  Florence,  Italy,  June  9th,  1825. 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK,  85 


CHAPTER  X. 

Joseph's  Position  ix  Regard  to  the  Duke  de  Reichstadt — Decree 
OF  THE  French  Senate  —  Revolution  of  1830  —  His  Letter  to 
the  Chamber  of  Deputies — Visits  England  —  Respect  Paid  to 
Him  on  His  Departure — Revisits  America — Returns  to  Europe 
— Death  —  Extracts  from  His  Will  —  Prince  Joseph  —  Sale  of 
THE  Park — Beckett — The  IIamiltons. 

TN  CONNECTION  with  Joseph  Bonaparte,  it  is  proper  to 
A  understand  his  position  in  regard  to  the  French  nation, 
and  the  son  of  his  brother,  the  great  Napoleon.  In  a  decree 
of  the  French  Senate,  passed  November  27th,  1804,  and 
ratified  by  the  vote  of  the  French  people,  is  the  following 
section : 

"Art.  5.  In  defect  of  lawful  heirs,  or  adopted  heirs  of 
Napoleon  Bonaparte,  the  imperial  dignity  is  devolved  and 
deferred  to  Joseph  Bonaparte  and  his  lawful  descendants, 
by  order  of  primogeniture,  from  male  to  male,  to  the  per- 
petual exclusions  of  females  and  their  descendants." 

In  a  letter  to  the  author  of  the  "  Biographical  Sketch  of 
Joseph  Napoleon  Bonaparte,"  pages  XII  to  XV,  Joseph 
writes : 

*  *  *  "  With  respect  to  the  letter  to  the  Chamber  of 
Deputies,  the  date  must  be  referred  to  in  order  to  show 
how  opportune  it  was.  I  conscientiously  fulfilled  my  duty 
by  doing  that  in  the  name  of  m}-  brother's  orphan,  which 
it  was  impossible  for  him  to  do  for  himself. 

"  His  ever  to  be  deplored  death  now  imposes  upon  me 
another  duty,  that  of  adhering  with  inviolable  fidelity  to 
the  declaration  made  by  the  French  people  in  the  13th  year 
of  the  Republic  (27th  of  November,  1804),  until  the 
moment  that  the  nation  shall  please  to  decide  otherwise. 
But,  however  patriotic  my  feelings  and  rigorous  my  sense 
of  duty,  far  be  from  me  the  shade  of  a  pretension  which 
might  occasion  the  least  trouble.     What  signify  individuals 


86  BONAPARTE\S  PARK. 

in  comparison  with  a  nation  ?  Exile,  even  death  in  a 
foreign  land,  would  be  regarded  by  us  as  patriotic  offerings, 
if  an  overwhelming  necessity,  stronger  than  the  sympathy 
of  the  French  nation  for  us,  imposed  them.  It  is  always 
sufficiently  glorious  to  suffer  with  and  for  a  great  nation, 
of  which  one  has  done  nothing  unworthy. 

'■'■Everything  for  the  French  people,  was  the  device  of  iTapo- 
leon.  Everything  for  the  French  people  and  by  the  people, 
will  be  likewise  the  device  of  the  heirs  of  his  name ;  above 
all,  of  him  from  whom  that  great  man  concealed  nothing. 
A  general  peace  only  could  have  completely  manifested 
what  claims  Napoleon  really  had  to  the  love  and  gratitude 
of  the  French.  Those  who  form  their  opinion  of  him  only 
from  his  dictatorship  (to  whi*ch  he  was  compelled  by  the 
war  which  the  enemies  of  France  never  ceased  to  make 
upon  him)  know  nothing  of  him.  What  might  not  France 
be  now  after  a  peace  of  eighteen  years,  if  Napoleon  had 
continued  to  govern  it!!!" 

The  author  of  the  biographical  sketch,  on  pages  97  and 
104,  says :  "  In  1830,  after  the  people  of  Paris  had  expelled 
the  dynasty  which  had  been  forced  upon  France  by  foreign- 
ers, Joseph  thought  it  was  his  duty  to  send  to  the  Chamber 
of  Deputies  a  letter,  of  which  the  following  is  a  translation, 
a  duplicate  of  which  was  deposited  in  the  archives  of  M.  P. 
8.  Duponceau,  notary  public,  in  Philadelphia: 

"  To  THE  Members  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  at  Paris  : 
"  Gentlemen —         *  *  *  *        u  There 

are  no  governments  upon  the  earth  legitimate,  except 
those  acknowledged  by  the  nations ;  nations  alone  create  or 
destroy  them,  as  they  think  necessary;  nations  alone  have 
the  right,  individuals  and  particularly  families  only  have 
duties  to  fulfill. 

"Napoleon's  family  was  named  b}^  three  million  five  hun- 
dred thousand  votes;  if  the  nation  thinks  it  will  be  advan- 
tageous to  it  to  make  another  choice,  it  and  it  only  has  the 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  87 

power  and  the  right  to  do  so ;  Napoleon  II  jvas  proclaimed 
by  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  in  1815,  which  recognized  in 
him  a  right,  conferred  by  the  nation.  I  accept  in  his  name 
and  for  him,  all  the  modifications  decreed  by  the  Chamber 
of  1815,  which  was  dissolved  by  the  enemy's  bayonet.  I 
have  the  most  positive  proofs  of  knowing  that  Napoleon 
the  Second  would  be  worthy  of  France.  Above  all,  it  is  as 
a  Frenchman  that  I  desire  the  recognition  of  the  incontest- 
able right  which  he  has  to  the  throne,  as  long  as  the  nation 
shall  not  have  adopted  another  form  of  government.  He  is  the 
only  person  who  is  legitimate  in  the  true  meaning  of  the 
word,  that  is  to  say,  legally  and  voluntarily  elected  by  the 
people;  he  has  no  need  of  a  new  election;  nevertheless, 
the  nation  is  competent  to  confirm  or  to  rescind  titles  which 
it  has  conferred,  whenever  such  is  its  pleasure.  Until  then, 
gentlemen,  you  owe  your  duty  to  Napoleon  the  Second; 
and  until  Austria  restores  him  to  the  wishes  of  the  French, 
I  ofl:er  to  share  your  danger,  your  eftbrts,  your  labors,  and 
on  his  arrival  to  transmit  to  him  the  desire,  the  example, 
and  the  last  disposition  of  his  father,  while  dying  a  victim 

to  the  enemies  of  France  on  the  rock  of  St.  Helena. 

******** 

"  Gentlemen,  I  have  fulfilled  what  appeared  to  me  to  he 
a  sacred  duty.     May  the  voice  of  one  proscribed,  across  the 
Atlantic,  be  heard,  and  bear  to  the  hearts  of  his  country- 
men the  conviction  which  is  impressed  upon  his  own. 
******** 

"  The  liberty  of  the  press  is  the  triumph  of  truth — by  it 

the  conscience  of  every  one  is  enlightened — let  it  speak, 

and  let  the  will  of  the  great  nation  be  accomplished.     I 

subscribe  to  it  with  all  my  heart  and  soul. 

"Joseph  Napoleon  Bonaparte, 

"  Count  de  Survilliers. 
"  18th  September,  1830." 

This  letter  was  not  read  to  the  Chamber.     In  those  slow 
days  of  transmission  of  intelligence,  Louis  Phillippe  was 


88  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

proclaimed  King  before  it  was  written.  He  accepted  the 
crown  on  the  8th  of  August  precedent. 

Soon  after  the  ascension  of  Louis  Phillippe  to  the  throne 
of  France,  he  granted  a  partial  pardon  to  the  exiles  of  the 
Napoleon  dynasty.  In  1832,  Joseph  visited  England.  Very 
many  of  the  citizens  of  Bordentown  and  vicinity  called 
upon  him  prior  to  his  departure,  and  upon  the  day  of  his 
leaving  they  turned  out  en  masse  to  bid  him  good-bye.  At 
Philadelphia  a  number  of  the  most  prominent  gentlemen 
of  the  city  accompanied  him  to  the  vessel.  Upon  the  very 
day  of  his  departure,  July  22d,  his  nephew,  the  Duke  de 
Eeichstadt,  the  son  and  heir  of  Napoleon,  died.  His  arri- 
val in  England  so  soon  after  this  occurrence,  occasioned 
much  speculation  in  the  newspapers,  particularly  those  of 
France.  Political  motives  were  assigned  as  the  reason,  and 
these  were  apparently  affirmed  by  the  arrival  in  England  of 
his  brothers  Lucien  and  Jerome,  and  his  nephew  Louis 
Napoleon,  who  subsequently  became  Napoleon  HL  Each 
party  in  France  accounted  for  it  in  its  own  way,  and  the 
strong  prejudice  against  him  and  the  Bonaparte  family  was 
revived.  There  is,  however,  no  reason  to  suppose  his 
return  was  governed  by  any  political  motives,  further  than, 
perhaps,  the  general  good  and  interest  of  the  family.  The 
Bonapartes,  since  the  death  of  the  great  Emperor,  have 
been,  and,  for  years  to  come,  will  be,  candidates  for  the 
throne  of  France,  upon  every  favorable  opportunity;  and  it 
is  not  beyond  the  bounds  of  possibilities  that  another  of  the 
Bonapartes  will  bear  the  title  of  Napoleon  IV. 

In  the  biographical  sketch  above  quoted,  the  author,  on 
page  95, says : 

"During  the  sixteen  years  which  Joseph  resided  in  the 
United  States,  he  won  universal  esteem  from  the  citizens. 
All  the  inhabitants  of  Bordentown  repaired  to  his  retreat, 
to  bid  farewell  to  one  who,  for  so  many  years,  had  been  an 
object  of  respect  and  attachment  to  an  independent  popula- 
tion, of  many  of  whom  he  had  been  a  benefactor,  and  of  all 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  89 

the  friend.  Similar  testimonies  of  respect  were  paid  to 
him  on  his  embarkation  at  Philadelphia,  where  the  most 
distinguished  citizens  and  the  most  respectable  inhabitants 
of  a  city,  which  numbers  so  many,  went  to  pay  their  tribute 
to  one  whom  they  had  learned  to  know  and  appreciate." 

On  page  6,  the  same  author  says : 

"That  Joseph  quitted  the  republic  of  the  United  States, 
where  he  had  lived  like  a  true  philosopher,  doing  good, 
receiving,  as  a  father,  all  the  unfortunates  who  were  ban- 
ished from  France,  and  gaining  the  universal  esteem  of  the 
America  of  Washington." 

The  "American  Cyclopaedia,"  vol.  3,  page  31,  says  of 
Joseph : 

"  He  endeared  himself  to  Americans  by  his  benevolence, 
affability  and  Jiccomplishments,  and  he  was  elected  to  many 
philanthropieal  and  learned  associations." 

Joseph,  disgusted  with  the  charges  made  against  him  in 
England,  returned  to  America  in  1837,  where  he  remained 
for  nearly  two  years.  During  this  time  he  traveled  to  some 
extent  through  the  country,  and  settled  up  his  affairs.  In 
1839  he  again  went  to  England.  He  preserved  his  strength, 
energy  and  mental  powers  till  1840,  when  he  suffered  from 
a  paralytic  attack,  from  which  he  never  afterwards  recov- 
ered. Eventually  he  obtained  permission  to  go  to  Florence 
to  rejoin  his  family,  and  it  was  hoped  the  climate  might 
re-establish  his  health.  The  misfortunes  of  his  family 
engrossed  much  of  his  thoughts  during  his  latter  years,  and 
he  constantly  expressed  his  regrets  at  the  injustice  of  France 
in  permitting  so  maiw  men  who  had  served  the  nation 
faithfully  to  die  in  exile.      ***^ 

Of  his  last  sickness,  Louis  Napoleon  says :  "Attended  by 
the  Queen  Julie,  whose  devotion  failed  not  to  the  last,  and 
who  \Vas  ever  a  comforting  angel,  as  well  as  by  his  brothers 
Louis  and  Jerome,  whom  he  loved  affectionately,  he  expired 


90  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

gently;  and,  as  a  righteous  man,  he  would  have  seen  the 
approach  of  death  without  regret,  if  the  phantom  of  exile 
had  not  intruded,  even  on  his  last  moments,  to  wring  his 
heart  and  poison  his  last  farewell."  He  died  at  Florence, 
July  28th,  1844,  aged  76  years. 

Joseph  was  not  made  for  camps  or  thrones.  He  found 
the  main  sources  of  happiness  in  domestic  and  social  life, 
and  in  the  gratification  of  his  literary  and  artistic  tastes. 
Yet  the  correspondence  between  himself  and  the  great 
Napoleon,  which  has  been  published  since  his  death,  reveals 
the  confidential  intercourse  between  them.  The  museum 
of  Versailles  contains  a  marble  statue  of  Joseph,  by 
Delaistre;  a  bust,  by  Bartolini;  and  a  portrait  of  him,  by 
Gerard. 

By  his  last  will  and  testament,  dated  London,  June  14th, 
1840,  and  a  codicil  dated  at  the  Palace  Serrister,  Florence, 
September  21st,  1841,  he  devised  most  of  his  estate,  now 
very  much  reduced,  to  his  widow,  and  all  his  real  estate  in 
America  to  his  grandson  and  god-son  Joseph,  son  of  Charles 
Bonaparte  and  his  daughter  Zenaide.  The  following  items 
of  his  will,  interesting  to  the  residents  of  Bordentown,  are 
given  in  full : 

"  Ardently  devoted  to  me  in  my  exile,  were  Mr.  Louis 
Mailliard,  whose  son  lives  near  me,  and  Mr.  Thibaud,  whose 
daughter  lives  with  me.  I  declare  here  that  no  man  has 
more  right  to  my  confidence,  to  my  esteem,  than  Louis 
Mailliard.  I  would  like  to  show  my  attachment  to  him  by 
a  great  legacy ;  but  his  modesty  equals  his  fidelity.  I  know 
that  what  I  am  about  to  give  him  will  satisfy  him.  I 
bequeath  then,  to  Mr.  Louis  Mailliard,  the  farm  of  Grove- 
ville,  near  the  village  of  the  same  name,  of  about  250  acres, 
more  or  less,  such  as  it  is,  and  as  I  bought  it  of  Mr.  Wm. 
McKnight.  This  farm,  situated  in  America,  forms  part  of 
the  domain  that  I  have  designated  for  the  above.  I  give 
and  bequeath  equally  to  Mr.  Louis  Mailliard,  six  thousand 
dollars  in  stock  of  the  Union  Canal,  of  Pennsylvania. 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  91 

"  I  give  and  bequeath  to  his  son,  Adolph  Mailliard,  six 
thousand  dollars  in  stock  of  the  Union  Canal  Company, 
Pennsylvania.  I  give  and  bequeath  to  Mr.  Wm.  Thibaud, 
six  thousand  dollars  in  old  stocks  of  the  Union  Canal.  I 
give  and  bequeath  to  his  daughter,  Josephine  Thibaud,  six 
thousand  dollars  in  old  stocks  of  the  Union  Canal. 

"As  I  have  remitted  to-day  the  titles  of  each  of  these 
legacies  to  each  of  the  four  legatees,  my  heir  will  not  have 
to  make  the  deliverance  of  the  same  to  them.  They  are 
absolute  masters  of  it  from  this  day. 

"All  my  papers,  writings  and  memorials,  other  than  the 
papers  forming  the  titles  to  the  furniture  and  real  estate  of 
the  succession,  or  referring  to  it,  shall  be  remitted  by  my 
heir  above  designated  to  Mr.  Louis  Mailliard,  or  left  in  the 
hands  of  the  said  Mr.  Mailliard,  if  he  has  them  in  his  power. 
Mr.  Mailliard  shall  take  an  inventory  immediately,  without 
control  by  any  one.  He  shall  have  charge  of  them  and 
remit  them  to  my  grandson  Joseph,  at  his  twenty-fifth  year. 
In  case  of  the  death  of  Joseph  before  this  age,  the  charge 
shall  be  remitted  to  my  grandson  Lucien,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-five  years,  and  successively  to  my  grandson  Napo- 
leon, upon  his  having  reached  his  twenty -fifth  year.  If 
death  comes  to  my  three  grandsons  before  the  age  indi- 
cated, Mr.  Mailliard  shall  select  from  the  family  issue  of 
the  marriage  of  Charles  Bonaparte  and  Zenaide  the  person 
that  he  wishes,  either  among  my  granddaughters,  or  even 
among  the  sons-in-law  of  my  daughter  or  husbands  of  my 
granddaughters,  and  shall  remit  to  him  these  papers.  If 
Mr.  Mailliard  shall  die  before  having  been  able  to  realize 
my  wish  in  this  regard,  his  son  Adolph  shall  have  charge 
of  the  same  mission  and  of  the  same  trust.  *  * 

"  I  charge  Mr.  Mailliard  (Louis)  with  a  special  legacy  of 
ten  thousand  dollars,  the  use  of  which  I  have  indicated  to 
him,  and  for  the  execution  of  which  I  wish  that  his  honor 
may  be  trusted  absolutely,  without  any  question  or  demand 
ever  being  made  to  him  in  this  regard.     The  ten  thousand 


92  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

dollars  shall  be  reckoned  to  Mr.  Mailliard  in  the  year  of 
my  death.     He  need  never  make  any  account  of  it. 

"I  wish  that  after  my  death  Mr.  Louis  Mailliard  may 
dwell  in  my  residence  at  Point  Breeze;  that  he  may  be 
administrator  of  my  possessions  in  America,  until  the 
majority  of  my  grandson  Joseph ;  that  he  may  receive  a 
title  of  indemnity,  an  annual  income  of  four  hundred  dollars; 
an  income  which  shall  be  continued  to  Inm  during  his  life, 
even  when  his  functions  of  administrator  shall  cease,  or 
after  he  withdraws  from  them.  I  now  bestow  a  title  of 
legacy  to  each  of  the  following  named  persons : 

"  17.  To  Mr.  Joseph  Hopkiuson,  a  round  basrelief  of 
marble,  representing  General  Bonaparte,  first  consul.  It 
is  now  in  my  house  at  Point  Breeze. 

"  21.  To  Mr.  Louis  Mailliard,  my  portrait  in  miniature,  in 
the  uniform  of  my  guard.  I  authorize  him  from  this  day 
to  keep  it;  also  one  of  my  gold  repetition  watches. 

"  22.  To  Mr.  Wm.  Thibaud  my  portrait  in  miniature,  in 
uniform  of  light-horseman  of  the  guard,  and  to  Miss  Jose- 
phine Thibaud  my  portrait  in  cameo. 

"  23.  To  A.  M.  Adolph  Mailliard  my  silver  toilet  articles. 

"  5,  To  Mr.  Langhorn  Thorn,  my  manager  and  door- 
keeper at  Point  Breeze,  I  bequeath  also  ten  thousand  francs. 

"  I  name  for  my  testamentary  executors  M,  M.  Joseph 
riopkinson  and  Louis  Mailliard,  who  shall  act  either  in 
common  or  separately  in  the  right  which  confers  upon  them 
this  title. 

"The  injustice  of  those  who  have  had  power  in  France 
since  1815,  has  only  caused  my  love  for  the  absent  country 
to  increase.  When  my  family  shall  be  free  to  return  there 
through  the  will  of  the  French  nation,  my  wish  is  that  ray 
remains  may  be  interred  there  in  a  free  land.  *  * 

I  trust  them  to  the  care  of  Mr.  Louis  Mailliard,  desiring 
that  they  may  be  deposited  in  the  place  where  I  shall  breathe 
my  last." 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  98 

Joseph's  grandson,  Joseph  Lueien  Charles  Napoleon, 
Count  de  Musignano,  the  eldest  son  of  Prince  Charles  and 
Zenaide,  was  born  at  the  southeast  corner  of  Eleventh  and 
Market  streets,  Philadelphia,  February  13tb,  1824.  Bj 
will  he  was  vested  with  the  title  of  the  Park,  and  all 
Joseph's  real  estate  in  America  excepting  the  Groveville 
farm.  He  came  to  Bordentown  and  took  possession  of  the 
estate  shortly  after  his  grandfather's  death,  and  resided 
there  at  periods  for  a  number  of  years.  He  was  popularly 
known  as  Prince  Joseph,  was  more  secluded  and  a  little 
grander  than  his  uncle,  but  was  well  liked  by  the  citizens. 
Soon  after  the  revolution  of  1848,  he  entered  France,  and 
barely  escaped  assassination  in  Rome  in  1850,  though  he 
was  not  connected  with  politics,  and  died  in  that  city  in 
1865. 

By  this  devise  of  Joseph  of  all  his  immense  landed  estate 
in-  America,  it  is  fair  to  suppose  he  expected  his  grandson 
to  reside  upon  it  until  the  restoration  of  the  Bonapartes  to 
power,  an  event  which  he  never  doubted  would  occur. 
But  the  young  Prince  entertained  different  views  and  inten- 
tions, lie  soon  commenced  disposing  of  the  farms,  and 
all  were  sold  at  remunerative  prices;  and  at  last  the  Park 
was  put  up  at  auction  to  the  highest  bidder,  Thomas  Rich- 
ards, Esq.,  of  Philadelphia,  becoming,  the  purchaser. 

This  occurred  in  1847,  the  title  being  conveyed  to  Mr. 
Richards  on  the  11th  of  August  of  that  year.  He,  how- 
ever, held  it  for  a  few  years  only,  conveying  the  same  to 
Henry  Beckett,  Esq.,  on  the  15th  of  October,  1850.  Mr. 
Beckett  was  a  son  of  Sir  John  Beckett,  of  Somerby  Park, 
Lincolnshire,  England,  who  was  created  a  baronet  in  the 
year  1813,  and  a  brother  of  Sir  Thomas,  and  of  his  suc- 
cessor, Sir  Edmund  Denison  Beckett.  He  came  to  this 
country  many  years  ago,  and  settled  in  Philadelphia,  at 
which  port  he  was  for  a  long  time  British  Consul.  He 
married  a  Miss  Lyle  of  that  city.  Her  mother  was  a  Miss 
Hamilton,  who  was  descended  from  Andrew  Hamilton,  a 


94  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

Scotchman  and  Deputy  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  in  1701. 
The  Hamiltons  lived  in  great  state  at  their  country  seat  at 
Bush  Hill,  near  Fairmount,  now  a  built-up  portion  of  Phil- 
adelphia, containing  some  of  the  finest  houses  in  that  city. 
The  original  tract  was  very  large,  and  descended  to  the 
family  as  valuable  building  lots.  All  Mr.  Beckett's  money 
came  from  the  Hamilton  estate.  Many  of  the  old  Hamil- 
ton papers  were  stored  in  the  Lake  House. 

Prior  to  Mr.  Beckett's  purchase  of  the  Park,  he  resided 
in  the  "  Mailliard  house."  Not  being  satisfied  with  the  old 
Bonaparte  house,  he  had  it  pulled  down,  and  near  its  site, 
erected  a  modern  residence,  "  with  gas,  and  hot  and  cold 
water."  The  only  things  Mr.  Beckett  saved  from  the 
palace  were  two  mantel-pieces,  sent  to  this  country  as  a 
present  to  the  Count,  by  his  uncle.  Cardinal  Fesch.  They 
were  carved  in  Italy,  at  a  cost  of  |1,500  each,  and  are  beau- 
tiful as  works  of  art.  The  statuary  on  the  grounds  have 
been  removed  and  sold,  most  of  them  under  the  auctioneer's 
hammer ;  the  beautiful  drives  are  half  overgrown  with  wild 
grass,  the  lake  is  a  weed-covered  marsh.  All  that  remains 
is  the  natural  beauty  of  the  ground,  and  the  debris  of 
departed  grandeur.  He  was  often  spoken  of  as  Sir  Henry, 
or  Lord  Beckett,  but  he  was  never  knighted.*  His  widow 
resides  near  i!!^ew  York  city,  and  his  only  son  and  heir  in 
England.  In  1866,  Mr.  Beckett  purchased  and  presented 
to  Christ  Church,  Bordentown,  the  house  and  lot  adjoining 
the  edifice,  for  a  rectory. 

*  diaries  E.  Eartrigbt,  Esq.,  British  Consul  Philadelphia. 


BONAPARTE'S  FARK.  96 


CHAPTER  XL 

Interesting  Sketch  of  Louis  Mailliard  —  Recovery  of  the  Bckied 
Casket  —  Joseph's  Remains  TRAXSFEnnED  to  France — Adolph 
Mailliard. 

TN  CONNECTION  with  Joseph  Bonaparte,  we  take  pleas- 
A  ure  iu  devoting  a  few  lines  to  the  memory  of  a  man  who 
was  so  well  known  in  our  community  by  his  attachment 
and  fidelity  to  his  King,  and  who,  for  thirty-six  years,  never 
left  his  post  of  trust  and  confidence. 

King  Joseph,  in  his  last  will,  begins  with  these  words : 
"  I  here  declare  that  no  man  has  more  right  to  my  confi- 
dence and  esteem  than  Mr.  Louis  Mailliard ;"  and,  after 
giving  him  many  instructions  about  his  papers  and  mortal 
remains,  appointed  him,  with  Judge  Joseph  Hopkinson,  his 
testamentary  executor.  The  Judge  died,  full  of  years  and 
full  of  honors,  before  the  testator.  This  left  Mr.  ALiilliard 
as  sole  surviving  executor.  The  trust  was  performed  by 
him  with  the  greatest  care  and  fidelity. 

Louis  Mailliard,  at  the  early  age  of  fourteen,  was  taken, 
by  King  Joseph,  to  Spain,  followed  him  in  all  his  campaigns 
and  visits  to  France,  and  finally  accompanied  him  in  his 
exile. 

We  will  now  give  the  following  deeply-interesting  and 
perfectly  reliable  statement,  never  before  given  to  the 
public : 

"  In  1814,  when  the  Emperor  Napoleon  abdicated,  Joseph 
retired  to  Switzerland,  where  he  purchased  the  estate  of 
Prangins,  with  a  fine  chateau  and  park.  He  resided  there 
until  the  restoration  of  the  empire,  in  1815.  Called  back 
to  France,  by  his  imperial  brother,  to  take  a  share  in  public 
aftUirs,  and  not  so  sanguine  of  success  as  Napoleon,  he  pre- 
pared himself  to  meet  adversity  again,  and  save  part  of  his 
fortune  in  case  of  disaster.     Like  all  sovereigns,  he  had  iu 


96  BOJS'APARTE'S  PARK. 

his  possession  diamonds  and  valuable  jewels  representing  a 
large  sum.  Not  willing  to  risk  them  with  him  on  his  jour- 
ney to  France,  where  he  might  be  killed  or  made  prisoner, 
he  confided  his  anxiety  to  Mailliard,  who  advised  him  to 
bury  them  in  some  remote  spot  in  the  park,  and  oftered  to 
show  him  a  place  of  safety,  where  nobody  but  themselves 
could  ever  find  them  again — a  place  which  he  had  discov- 
ered while  hunting,  as  a  resort  for  foxes  and  wild  animals. 
Joseph,  struck  with  the  idea,  went  with  him  to  the  spot, 
and  decided  at  once  to  follow  the  advice.  An  inventory  in 
duplicate  was  made  of  all  the  jewels  to  be  buried,  an  iron 
box  provided  to  enclose  the  casket,  and  the  next  night  it 
was  buried  several  feet  under  ground  by  Mailliard,  in  pres- 
ence of  Joseph.  He  rejoined  his  brother  in  Paris,  took  the 
direction  of  affiurs  durii:g  the  absence  of  Napoleon,  which 
ended  in  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  and  never  put  his  foot  in 
Prangins  again. 

"In  1817,  seeing  everything  quiet  in  Europe,  Joseph  told 
Mailliard  to  prepare  to  sail  for  Europe ;  that  it  was  time  to 
go  to  Prangins  to  recover  the  buried  treasure,  and,  on  his 
way  home,  try  to  infiuence  Queen  Julie  and  his  daughters 
to  join  him  in  America.  He  could,  better  than  anybody, 
explain  his  position  and  the  comforts  they  could  expect. 

"  Well  provided  with  passports  and  letters  of  credit,  Mail- 
liard sailed  from  New  York,  but  was  wrecked  on  the  coast 
of  Ireland.  The  sea  being  calm,  all  the  passengers  and 
crew  were  saved,  but  the -ship  was  a  total  loss.  Having 
saved  his  papers,  he  pursued  his  journey  to  England,  and 
thence  went  to  Brussels,  where  Queen  Julie  was  residing 
with  her  daughters.  On  receiving  the  message  from  her 
husband,  she  decided  at  first  to  join  him,  but,  her  physicians 
having  positively  declared  that  she  could  not  stand  the  sea 
voyage,  it  was  determined  to  wait  until  her  health  could 
permit  it.  She  never  was  able  to  do  it.  Receiving  a  nega- 
tive answer,  Mailliard  continued  his  journey  to  Switzerland, 
and  finally  reached  Prangins.     Having  disguised  himself  as 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  97 

an  ecceutric  Englishman,  he  called  upon  the  administrator 
of  the  estate  during  Joseph's  absence,  Mr.  Veret,  \vho  did 
not  recognize  him.  Making  himself  known,  he  explained 
his  errand  to  Veret,  who  promised  to  help  him.  It  was 
agreed  that  Mailliard  should  pass  for  an  English  coal  specu- 
lator, who  was  persuaded  that  a  coal  mine  existed  in  the 
park  of  Prangins,  and  who  wanted  to  prospect  for  it.  The 
next  day,  Mr.  Veret  procured  for  him  a  few  workmen, 
whom  the  supposed  Englishman  set  to  work  near  the  local- 
ity where  the  iron  box  was  buried.  Slowly  and  by  degrees 
he  brought  them  exactly  to  the  spot,  and  occupied  them 
until  dark  to  remove  the  earth  within  about  two  feet  of  the 
concealed  box.  Darkness  compelled  the  men  to  go  home. 
Later  in  the  night,  asking  Mr.  A''eret  to  go  with  him  as  a 
witness,  Mailliard  drove  rapidly  to  the  spot,  took  a  crowbar 
left  by  the  workmen,  and  began  sounding.  No  signs  of  the 
box  yet.  The  foxes  had,  by  digging  new  holes,  increased 
the  original  amount  of  earth  over  it.  The  shovel  was 
brought  into  requisition,  and  the  hole  made  deeper.  At  last, 
after  an  hour's  anxiety  and  suspense,  the  crowbar  struck  a 
solid  body,  and  the  well-known  sound  of  iron  was  heard. 
A  little  more  shoveling,  and  the  box  was  uncovered.  With 
the  help  of  Mr.  Veret,  it  was  placed  in  the  carriage  and 
taken  to  his  house.  The  iron  box  was  opened,  and  the 
casket  appeared,  Just  as  it  had  been  placed  by  King  Joseph. 
Mr.  Veret  and  Mailliard  took  out  the  jewels,  compared 
them  with  the  duplicate  inventory,  and  not  one  was  miss- 
ing. Everything  was  in  the  most  perfect  order.  What  a 
relief  to  the  messenger. 

"  Of  course  the  next  day  the  Englishman  left  the  country, 
not  having  found  indications  of  coal,  and  never  was  seen 
again  at  Prangins. 

"  Returning  to  England  by  the  shortest  route,  Mr.  Mailliard 
sailed  for  New  York,  and  arrived  safely.  He  lost  no  time 
in  the  city,  hired  a  carriage  and  drove  on  until  he  reached 
Bordentown,  in  the  middle  of  the  night.     King  Joseph  was 


98  BONAPARTE'S  PARK. 

asleep  and  did  not  expect  him  so  soon.  He  awoke  and  was 
very  much  gratified  to  see  Mailliard  enter  the  room  and 
place  in  his  hands  the  buried  casket  with  its  contents. 
The  success  of  the  mission  increased  Joseph's  confidence  in 
Mailliard's  sincere  attachment  to  him,  and  from  that  time 
he  never  did  anything  without  first  consulting  with  him. 
In  a  letter  to  Queen  Julie,  he  writes :  '  Mailliard  has  been 
very  ill,  but  I  am  happy  to  say  better.  I  cannot  do  with- 
out him;  he  is  my  secretary,  my  intendent;  he  is  my  right 
hand.' 

"Joseph  kept  no  secrets  from  the  young  confidant  whom 
he  had  brought  up  under  his  eyes,  and  with  whom  he  could 
speak  of  his  past  glories,  or  talk  of  his  plans  for  the  future. 
He  always  found  a  willing  ear  and  a  consoling  spirit  in 
the  man  who  was  ready  to  sacrifice  everything  for  the  com- 
fort and  welfare  of  the  King  in  exile.  Time  only  served  to 
strengthen  the  attachment  between  them.  For  thirty-six 
years,  from  1808  to  1844,  Mailliard  never  left  his  post,  and 
the  death  of  King  Joseph,  in  Florence,  in  1844,  only 
released  him  from  his  duty  to  the  living;  his  duty  to  the 
memory  of  the  illustrious  dead  was  not  ended.  He  returned 
to  America  to  act  as  executor,  and  remained  until  the  set- 
tlement of  the  estate.  As  soon  as  Louis  Napoleon  had 
ascended  the  throne  of  France,  he  sailed  for  Europe  and 
gave  his  attention  to  the  execution  of  his  patron's  last- 
injunctions:  'To  have  his.correspondence  with  Napoleon 
published,  and  his  mortal  remains  transferred  to  France  as 
soon  as  that  country  should  be  re-opened  to  the  Napoleon 
family.' 

"  Both  objects  were  successfully  accomplished.  The 
Emperor  Napoleon  HI  received  him  very  warmly,  gave 
him  full  liberty  to  do  what  he  thought  best  to  the  memory 
of  his  uncle;  asked  him  also  to  select  some  public  office  to 
his  taste,  &c. 

"After  performing  the  last  rites,  that  is,  transferring  the 
remains    of  Joseph    to    the    Napoleon    chapel,    Mailliard 


BONAPARTE'S  PARK.  99 

retired  to  his  country  seat,  at  Mortefontaine,  where  he 
ended  a  long  and  useful  life,  beloved  and  regretted  by  every 
one  who  had  known  him." 

Mr.  Louis  Mailliard's  son  and  heir,  Adolph,  visited  Cali- 
fornia about  1851,  and  traveled  extensively  through  the 
state.  Returning  to  Bordentown  he  resided  in  the  Mail- 
Hard  house  for  some  years,  when,  with  his  family,  he 
returned  to  California  about  1867.  Here  he  purchased  a 
large  tract  of  land,  near  San  Rafael,  where,  in  his  mountain 
home,  surrounded  by  his  family,  with  his  horses,  dogs  and 
gun,  a  choice  library  and  music,  they  possess  all  that  the 
heart  could  desire. 


The  Murats. 


The  Murats. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

MCRAT,    KlXG    OF    THE    SlCIMES  —  PrIXCE    MuRAT  —  SETTLES    NEAR    BoR- 

DEXTOWN — Roebuck — Marries  Miss  Fraser — The  Frasers — Thb 
City  in  the  Air — The  Prince's  Characteristics  —  Madame  Mu- 
rat's  School  —  How  the  Prince  Spent  His  Time  —  The  Prince 
IN  His  Glory. 

TOACHIM  MURAT,  the  dashing  and  brave,  but  superfi- 
J  eial  and  unfortunate — the  father  of  Prince  Murat — was 
the  son  of  an  inn-keeper,  was  educated  for  the  church 
and  ordained  sub-deacon.  Dismissed  for  some  youthful 
follies,  he  enlisted  in  the  chasseurs.  Promoted  a  lieutenant, 
he  was  cashiered,  and  became  a  waiter  in  a  cafe  at  Paris. 
Entering  the  guard  of  Louis  XVI,  he  was  promoted  a  lieu- 
tenant of  cavalry,  and  was  again  cashiered.  Being  restored 
he  served  as  an  aid  to  Napoleon  in  Italy.  Xapoleon  con- 
ceived a  strong  attachment  for  him,  promoted  him,  and  sub- 
sequently gave  him  his  sister  Caroline  in  marriage.  On  the 
establishment  of  the  empire  he  became  a  marshal  and 
prince.  He  commanded  ^the  arnfiy  that  invaded  Spain,  and 
was  made  King  of  the  Two  Sicilies.  Incurring  the  displea- 
sure of  Napoleon,  he  listened  to  overtures  from  his  enemies. 
Still,  he  joined  Napoleon  in  the  Russian  campaign,  and  was 
given  command  of  the  grand  army  in  its  disastrous  retreat. 
He  returned  to  Italy  and  resumed  his  secret  negotiations 
with  the  enemies  of  Napoleon,  but  joined  him  in  the  cam- 
paign of  1813.  On  his  return  to  Italy  he  signed  a  treaty 
with  Austria,  by  which  his  kingdom  was  guaranteed  to 


104  THE  MURATS. 

him.  At  the  head  of  thirty  thousand  men,  he  acted  with 
the  allies,  who,  after  using  him,  abandoned  him. 

The  Congress  of  Vienna  decided  on  his  overthrow.  He 
reconciled  Napoleon,  and  upon  the  latter's  return  from 
Elba,  marched  against  the  Austrians.  Failins;  in  his  cam- 
paign,  his  army  dwindling  away,  he  attempted  negotiation 
with  the  allies,  but,  deserted  even  by  his  own  emissaries,  his 
kingdom  in  insurrection,  his  Queen  a  refugee  on  board  an 
English  frigate,  he  was  obliged  to  fly.  After  "Waterloo,  in 
which  he  was  not  allowed  to  share,  he  landed  at  Pizzo  with 
a  few  followers,  and  attempted  in  vain  to  rouse  the  inhab- 
itants. Pursued  to  the  mountains,  he  fought  desperately, 
but  fell  into  the  hands  of  peasantry.  Taken  to  the  castle, 
he  was  condemned  by  a  court-martial,  and  shot  in  one  of 
the  rooms.  He  died  as  a  soldier  should  die,  setting  an 
example  of  calm  courage  and  fortitude. 

Marshal,  Prince,  King  Murat's  youngest  son,  Napoleon 
Francois  Lucien  Charles,  our  Prince  Murat,  was  born  in 
Milan,  May  16th,  1803.  At  the  execution  of  his  father  in 
1815,  he  was  twelve  years  of  age.  He  lived  with  his 
mother  until  1822,  when  he  went  to  Spain,  where  he  was 
arrested  on  suspicion.  After  his  liberation  he  came  to 
America  and  settled  on  a  farm  near  Columbus,  New  Jersey. 
Some  time  afterwards  he  bought  a  farm  of  about  one  hun- 
dred acres  near  the  Park.  Some  fifty  or  sixty  years  ago 
this  place  belonged  to  an  English  gentleman  named  Roe- 
buck. There  is  a  popular  belief  or  tradition  around  Bor- 
dentown  that  the  well-known  sand-burs,  so  common  to 
some  parts  of  New  Jersey,  did  not  appear  until  his  coming, 
hence  they  are  known  here  as  "  Roebuck  burs."  As  it  is 
said  that  he  brought  them  here  in  the  Saxon  sheep  he 
imported,  they  are  sometimes  called  the  "Saxon  bur.'* 
This  of  course  is  an  error,  as  they  are  indigenous  to  the 
sandy  soil  of  our  state.  Mr.  Roebuck  apparently  was  a 
gentleman  of  high  education,  and  there  is  said  to  have  been 
something  mysterious  about  him.     Roebuck  is  a  rare  name 


THE  MURATS.  105 

in  this  country.  It  is  the  name  of  an  eminent  English 
family,  one  of  whom  was  a  noted  member  of  Parliament 
during  our  late  war  for  the  Union,  and  a  violent  opponent 
of  the  Free  States.  An  English  war  vessel  during  the 
Kevolution  was  called  the  "  Roebuck." 

The  house,  still  standing,  is  situated  on  the  Trenton  road 
near  the  White  Horse  bridge.  It  was  constructed  on  the 
plan  of  an  Italian  villa.  In  the  rear  and  connected  with  it 
were  the  barns,  stables  and  outbuildings  of  stone  or  brick, 
forming  a  hollow  square,  inside  of  which  they  all  fronted, 
and  in  which  his  horses,  cattle,  stock  and  everything  else 
was  kept. 

Afterwards  the  Prince  lived  on  the  Pecklesstown  pike, 
near  the  old  pottery.  But  the  famous  house  of  Murat  was 
on  Park  street,  near  Third,  close  to  the  Park.  It  was  a 
long,  low,  rambling  building,  with  uneven  roof  and  dormer 
windows.  Built  of  brick,  covered  with  plaster  of  a  dark 
gray,  with  a  row  of  trees  in  front  of  it,  it  had  somewhat 
the  appearance  of  elegance. 

While  residing  at  Bordentown,  Prince  Murat  met  and 
married  Miss  Caroline  Georgina  Eraser.  It  was  a  pure 
love  match  between  them.  The  lady  was  a  daughter  of 
Major  Eraser,  of  the  British  army  during  the  revolutionary 
war.  After  the  war  he  married  into  an  old  aristocratic 
family  of  South  Carolina,  and  resided  there  and  in  Phila- 
delphia, in  which  city  he  died  and  was  buried.  His  pension 
from  the  British  government  was  continued  to  his  widow, 
Anna  Longton  Eraser,  during  her  life. 

The  match  was  not  approved  of  by  either  family.  The 
Count  very  much  disapproved  of  it,  he  considering  the 
Prince  betrothed  to  one  of  his  cousins  in  Europe.  All 
objections,  however,  did  not  amount  to  much  with  the 
Prince  and  Miss  Eraser.  One  afternoon  they  went  out  for 
a  drive,  and  going  to  Trenton,  they  were  privately  married 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Beasley,  of  St.  Michael's  Episcopal  Church. 
The  Prince  was  a  tall,  handsome,  aristocratic-looking  young 


106  THE  MURATS. 

man,  possessed  of  much  of  the  dash  and  bearing  of  his 
father.  Caroline  was  the  youngest  and  the  beauty  of  the 
family,  tall,  elegant  and  majestic  in  appearance.  The 
romantic  love  she  formed  for  him  grew  stronger  with 
advancing  years,  although  she  did  not  approve  of  the  dem- 
ocratic taste  he  socially  displayed  away  from  home.  The 
Prince  was  sincerely  attached  to  her,  and  full}'  appreciating 
the  good  wife  she  made  him  and  services  rendered,  ever 
retained  his  love. 

Mrs.  Murat  had  four  sisters,  Eliza  S.,  Jane,  Harriet  and 
Maria,  and  one  brother,  .William.  Caroline  and  William 
were  twins.  Eliza  was  engaged  to  a  gentleman  of  Charles- 
ton, South  Carolina,  named  Cairns,  who,  dying,  left  her 
140,000.*  The  Prince,  who  was  visionary  in  all  business 
matters,  induced  her  and  his  wife  to  invest  in  a  large  tract 
of  land  on  Black  river,  in  the  northern  part  of  New  York 
state,  where  he  projected  a  city,  in  which  to  gather  the 
wealthy  and  grand  of  the  land.  The  site  was  elegant,  the 
scenery  romantic,  the  gunning  and  fishing  splendid.  Wild 
dells,  gidd}^  peaks,  chasms  and  overhanging  cliffs,  through 
which  the  hunter's  horn  could  echo  until  the  last  note  died 
away  among  the  clouds,  were  there;  but,  alas!  no  one 
would  invest  in  town  lots,  and  the  "castle  in  the  air"  faded 
away,  leaving  not  a  trace  of  the  money  invested. 

Prior  to  this,  the  Prince  had  spent  $70,000  in  farming, 
horses,  dogs,  guns  and  princeli/  ideas.  W^hile  he  had  money 
he  could  never  realize  the  possibility  that  he  would  ever  be 
in  want  of  it.  To  the  hostler  or  rustic  who  tied  or  watered 
his  horses,  he  gave  the  first  piece  of  money  he  found  in  his 
pockets,  be  it  silver  or  gold.  If  he  fancied  a  pointer  or 
setter,  he  would  have  it,  at  any  price.  He  went  to  the  pines 
with  a  party  of  gentlemen,  after  deer.  In  the  evening  his 
servant  brought  him  a  basket  of  champagne.  Knocking 
the  necks  off  with  a  knife,  he  emptied  the  contents  into  a 

♦Miss  Maria  H.  Nutt. 


THE  MURATS.  107 

bucket,  and  soon  concocted  a  luscious  punch.  These  were 
trifles  for  a  prince,  but  heavy  for  a  Jersey  farmer  of  moder- 
ate means.  The  Prince,  at  last,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life, 
began  to  realize  the  want  of  money,  though  he  never  did  the 
value  of  it.  Soon  he  was  involved  in  debt  in  every  direction 
and  his  credit  completely  gone.  In  the  meantime,  he  had 
a  family  of  interesting  children  growing  up.  At  last,  in 
spite  of  his  protestations,  his  most  estimable  wife,  Mme. 
Murat,  and  her  sisters,  opened  a  select  boarding  and  day 
school.  In  this  they  were  quite  successful,  the  school  soon 
filling  up  with  young  ladies,  mostly  from  the  south.  At 
one  time  there  was  quite  a  immber  of  Cuban  misses,  from 
Havana,  among  their  pupils.  It  is  the  boast  of  a  number 
of  ladies  of  Bordentown  that  they  vrere  pupils  of  this 
school,  which  was  remarkably  well  kept  and  very  flourish- 
ing. One  of  these  ladies,  in  a  conversation,  said :  "The 
Prince  presided  at  the  table,  and  was  very  attentive  to  all 
the  pupils,  particularly  the  young  and  bashful.  He  had 
little  to  say  to  us,  but  was  one  of  the  most  agreeable  and 
polished  gentlemen  I  ever  met." 

This  was  at  home.  The  Prince  undoubtedly  was  a 
gentleman  in  manners,  but  his  manners  were  like  a  pair  of 
gloves,  to  be  drawn  on  or  thrown  aside  as  occasion  suited 
him.  Away  from  home  he  was  emphatically  a  "  good 
follow,"  and  very  democratic  in  his  ideas,  llis  boon  com- 
panions in  the  town  were  bar-room  loafers.  Though  not 
addicted  to  liquor,  he  would  take  a  drink  as  freely  with  a 
hostler  as  a  gentleman.  He  would  sit  down  in  the  corner 
of  a  fence  and  play  a  game  of  cards  with  any  good  fellow 
he  chanced  to  meet,  borrow  a  quarter  of  a  darkey  and  give 
a  boy  a  half-eagle  for  holding  his  horse — if  he  happened  to 
have  one.  On  Chestnut  street  one  day  he  was  met  by  one 
of  his  Bordentown  chums,  who  hailed  him  with,  "How  are 
you,  Prince?"  and  extended  his  hand.  "  Who  the  devil  are 
you?  I  don't  know  you  in  Philadelphia,"  was  his  indignant 
reply.     At  the  White  Horse,  near  the  draw-bridge,  upon  a 


108  THE  MUBATS. 

summer's  afternoon,  he  would  play  a  game  of  ten-pins  for 
drinks  with  any  one  who  came  along,  and  trouble  the  land- 
lord to  chalk  it  down,  if  he  lost.  Once  during  Joseph  Bon- 
aparte's absence  from  home,  the  Prince  secured  the  privilege 
of  the  purchase  of  a  farm  he  knew  his  uncle  desired  to 
possess.  Upon  Joseph's  return  he  offered  him  a  thousand 
dollars  advance  on  the  price,  which  Murat  felt  in  honor 
bound  to  decline.  The  Prince  was  very  fond  of  gunning. 
Miller  Howard,  Esq.,  a  keen  sportsman,  upon  one  occasion 
invited  him  to  go  to  the  pines  after  deer.  He  at  once 
declined,  stating  frankly  he  had  not  money  to  pay  his  way. 
Upon  another  occasion  Mr.  Howard  owned  a  deer  dog  he 
would  not  part  with  under  any  circumstance.  Murat  took 
a  fancy  to  it,  and  as  Mr.  Howard  declined  to  sell,  he 
advanced  the  offer  until  the  sum  got  beyond  all  reason.  At 
last,  becoming  indignant,  he  said  :  "You  Americans  are  a 
very  queer  people.  I  spend  thousands  of  dollars  among 
you,  and  you  won't  sell,  give  or  lend  me  your  dog."  The 
dog,  in  Howard's  eyes,  was  above  price  or  friendship. 
Once  he  was  trying  a  pair  of  new  horses  out  by  Columbus. 
They  balked,  and  he  ordered  his  servant  to  go  to  a  neigh- 
boring barn  and  bring  a  couple  of  sheaves  of  straw  and 
place  under  them.  These  were  set  on  fire,  and  the  Prince 
went  sailing  down  the  pike  in  the  height  of  his  glory. 


THE  MUM  ATS.  109 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Assault  anu  Battery  —  The  Pkince's  Amusing  Defence — Generous 
Tradesmen — IIis  Friends  —  Revolution  of  1848  —  Return  to 
France  —  Elected  to  the  Assembly  —  Envoy,  Senator,  Prince, 
Soldier  and  Prisoner — The  Princess  Caroline's  Reward  —  Mr. 
Brown's  Visit  —  Murat's  Children  —  Baron  de  Chasseron  and 
Duke  de  Mouchy — Fall  of  the  Empire — Separation  of  Estate — 
Fortunes  Spent  by  the  Prince — llis  Sisters  —  Sketch  of  Napo- 
leon AcHiLLE  Murat  —  William  Fraser's  Children. 

THE  PRINCE  once  had  an  action  of  assault  and  battery 
brought  against  him  by  a  groom,  whom  he  had  kicked 
out  of  the  stable  for  insulting  him.  The  trial  took  place  in 
the  court  at  Mou!it  Holly,  and  we  are  indebted  to  the  Hon. 
Edwin  Salter,  of  New  Jersey,  now  residing  in  Washington, 
D.  C,  for  the  following  humorous  account  of  it,  taken, 
many  years  ago,  from  a  West  Jersey  newspaper : 

"  Prince  Murat,  one  of  the  Bonaparte  family,  lived  near 
Bordentown,  and,  being  in  a  false  position  among  republi- 
cans, the-  lower  class  of  his  neighbors,  when  employed  by 
him,  took  great  pains  to  let  him  know  that  every  one  was 
equal  in  New  Jersey,  i.  e.,  that  every  one  could  do  just  as 
they  pleased  with  him. 

"  Murat  was  a  very  gentlemanly,  good-natured  man,  of 
enormous  size — some  six  feet  two,  and  stout  in  proportion, 
and  accustomed  to  severe  exercise.  He  could  shoot  all  day 
in  a  monstrous  pair  of  boots,  going  through  morasses  that 
would  appall  any  sportsman  but  himself  and  Dr.  Dewees, 
our  accomplished  contributor,  who  used  often  to  shoot  with 
him. 

"  The  Prince  had  employed  a  worthless  fellow  to  groom 
his  horses.  One  day  he'' very  civilly  requested  him,  as 
was  his  constant  custom  (for  he  was  very  polite),  to  do 
something.  The  man  flatly  refused,  and  was  so  very  inso- 
lent that  Murat,  with  his  awful  boot,  suddenly  helped  him 


110  THE  MUJRATS. 

to  the  middle  of  the  barn-yard  pool.  As  a  matter  of  course, 
the  fellow  sued  him  for  assault  and  battery,  coutidently 
anticipating  a  handsome  sum  for  damages.  The  court-room 
was  tilled  with  a  very  select  audience,  including  many 
ladies;  for  Murat  was  highly  esteemed  for  his  elegant  man- 
ners and  commanding  person.  It  was  understood  that  he 
was  to  plead  his  own  case,  and,  as  he  was  extremely  acute 
and  quite  learned,  great  sport  was  anticipated.  The  fellow, 
too,  was  provided  with  killing  evidence,  as  was  supposed ; 
and  Murat,  it  seemed,  had  little  to  hope  for.  On  examina- 
tion, he  was  confident  of  having  received  as  many  as  six 
kicks  from  Murat,  and,  in  short,  of  being  grievously 
afflicted  and  misused.  Murat  demanded  that  he  should 
show  the  precise  spot  where  the  bodily  injury  was  inflicted. 
He  endeavored  to  evade  the  demand,  but  the  Prince 
insisted ;  he  accordingly  indicated  the  very  lowest  possible 
part  of  the. spine,  and  again  asserted  that  Murat  had  kicked 
him  six  times.  There  the  defence  rested,  and  the  prosecut- 
ing attorney  made  a  powerful  appeal,  filled  with  'the  sacred 
rights  of  the  meanest  citizen,'  '  monarchical  oppression,' 
'star  spangled  banner,'  etc.,  etc.;  but  not  a  word  of  the  vul- 
gar insolence  or  dishonesty  of  the  laborer,  who  always 
demanded  his  full  pay,  whether  a  thief  or  liar,  or  as  indo- 
lent as  a  sloth.  Murat  addressed  the  jury  in  the  following 
conclusive  style,  which  we  cordially  recommend  to  our  doc- 
tors, lawyers  and  jurymen,  for  its  convicting  use  of  anatom- 
ical knowledge  and  its  humor.  Bowing  profoundly  to  the 
bench  and  jury-box,  which  happened  both  to  be  tilled  with 
excellent  conmion  sense : 

"  My  lord,  de  judge  and  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  de.re  has 
been  great  efforts  and  much  troubles  to  make  everybody 
believe  me  a  very  bad  man ;  but  dat  is  of  no  consequence. 
De  man  tells  you  I  kick  him  six  times  !  six  times !  so  low 
as  possible.  I  very  sorry  of  the  necessity  to  make  him 
show  how  low  it  was,  but  I  could  not  avoid  it.  Now,  my 
lord  and  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  you  see  this  part  of  the 


THE  MURATS.  Ill 

liunian  skeleton  (taking  from  the  enormous  pocket  of  his 
hunting-coat  a  human  pelvis  with  theos  coccygis  complete 
and  articulated  with  wires).  Here  are  de  bones.  Dese 
•  little  bones  vat  you  see  here  (shaking  them  to  the  jury  like 
the  end  of  a  rattlesnake's  tail),  dcse  leetle  bones  are  de  very 
place  vere  de  tail  of  de  animal  shall  grow;  dat  is  to  say,  if 
de  man  who  sue  me  were  to  be  a  veritable  jack — vot  you 
you  call  it  ? — ah  !  jack-horse,  and  not  only  very  much 
resemble  dat  animal,  vy  you  see  dese  leetle  bones,  if  dey 
were  long  enough,  would  be  his  tail !'  The  court  was  con- 
vulsed with  laughter,  and  the  Prince,  being  extremely  acute 
and  knowing  he  had  the  best  of  it,  drew  his  speech  to  an 
end  by  stretching  out  his  enormous  leg,  armed  with  his 
sporting-boot  up  to  his  knee,  and  clapping  his  hand  on  his 
massive  thigh  so  that  it  resounded  through  the  court-room, 
exclaimed:  '  My  lord  and  gentlemen,  how  absurd  to  say  I 
could  give  him  even  von  kick  vid  dat,  and  not  to  break  all 
to  pieces  his  leetle  tail !' 

"  It  was  some  time  before  the  judge  could  gather  enough 
dignity  to  sum  up,  when  the  fellow  got  six  cents  damages 
and  the  Prince  three  cheers." 

Murat's  house  was  elegantly  but  scantily  furnished,  and 
the  relics  of  royalty  adorned  the  walls  and  rooms.  In  all 
his  poverty  he  retained  these,  refusing  to  part  with  them  at 
any  price.  To  the  kindness  and  generosity  of  his  creditors 
— and  they  were  legion — they  never  seized  them  or  troubled 
him  with  suits.  This  probably,  though,  was  more  through 
regard  for  his  wife  than  for  him.  Although  the  Prince,  as 
a  general  thing,  was  always  "  hard  up,"  he  occasionally  was 
rich.  We  say  rich,  for  no  matter  how  short  the  time  his 
money  lasted,  he  had  apparently  as  much  as  he  wanted. 
There  were  some  who,  to  a  small  extent,  were  always  will- 
ing to  credit  him  or  loan  him  money.  Among  his  most 
steadfast  and  generous  friends  was  the  late  William  Nor- 
cross,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Col.  Allen,     lie  was  one  of  his 


112  THE  MURATS. 

heaviest  creditors,  and,  to  the  honor  of  the  Prince,  when  liis 
family  was  called  to  France,  he  forwarded  money  to  Bor- 
dentown  to  pay  oft*  all  his  indebtedness.  His  uncle,  Joseph 
Bonaparte,  at  times  assisted  him,  but  left  him  nothing  in 
his  will.  Although  Murat  forgot  he  was  a  Prince,  Joseph 
never  did.  He  utterly  condemned  the  course  he  was  pur- 
suing, and  considered  him  a  disgrace  to  the  family. 

Murat  had  made  several  short  visits  to  France,  accom- 
panied at  least  once  by  his  wife,  their  eldest  son,  Joseph 
Joachim  Napoleon,  being  born  in  Paris,  July  21st,  1834. 

In  1848,  when  the  French  Revolution  occurred,*  he 
obtained  the  loan  of  a  considerable  sum  of  money  and 
returned  to  France.  He  was  soon  after  elected  to  the  con- 
stituent and  legislative  assemblies.  In  December  of  the 
same  year,  his  first  cousin,  Louis  Napoleon,  was  elected 
President  of  France,  and  in  1849  Murat  was  appointed 
envoy  extraordinary  and  minister  plenipotentiary  to  Turin. 
In  Januar}',  1852,  he  became  senator,  and  the  next  year, 
after  his  cousin  had  assumed  the  imperial  crown,  he 
received  the  title  of  Prince  of  the  family.  In  1860,  when 
the  Bourbons  were  expelled  from  Naples,  Murat  put  forth 
his  claim  to  the  throne  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  but,  at  the 
instance  of  the  Emperor,  he  immediately  disclaimed  his 
pretensions.  In  1870,  when  the  war  with  Prussia  broke 
out,  he  joined  the  army  under  Marshal  Bazaine,  and  was 
with  him  in  Metz  when  that  city  capitulated,  becoming  a 
prisoner  of  war. 

Upon  the  Prince's  return  to  France,  in  1848,  as  soon  as 
he  was  satisfied  the  star  of  the  Bonapartes  had  risen,  he 
sent  to  Bordentown  for  his  family  to  join  him.  Disposing 
of  the  house  and  furniture,  Madame  Murat  and  her  family 
set  sail  for  France.  Never  was  a  lady  more  entitled  to 
princely  estate  and  honors  than  she.  A  constant  and  good 
wife  she  had  made  him,  and  to  her  exertion  alone  was  due 

•  February  24th. 


THE  MURATS.  113 

the  rearing  and  education  of  their  children.  The  oft 
dreamed-of  grandeur  of  her  young  love  was  now  realized, 
and  she  and  her  children  were  received  into  the  imperial 
family.  With  plenty  of  money  Murat  was  indeed  a  Prince, 
as  far  as  the  spending  of  it  was  concerned.  Possibly  he 
sometimes  thought  of  his  old  Bordentown  cronies,  but  he 
had  ceased  to  appreciate  them.  However,  when  any  gen- 
tleman from  Bordentown  went  to  Paris,  he  was  received 
with  marked  attention  by  the  Prince,  who  always  cherished 
the  pleasantest  memories  of  the  town  of  his  exile.  The 
late  Wardell  Brown,  having  discounted  the  Prince's  note  in 
former  days,  which  was  duly  protested,  took  a  trip  over  to 
France,  in  hopes  of  recovering  the  money.  He  called  upon 
the  Prince,  who  received  him  with  the  utmost  cordiality. 
They  rode  and  dined  together,  and  had  a  splendid  time. 
Mr.  Brown  was  taken  to  the  Tuilleries,  presented  to  the 
Emperor  and  grand  dignitaries,  and  in  fact  treated  with 
such  distinguished  kindness  that  he  hesitated  to  broach  the 
subject  of  his  visit.  One  day  the  Prince  took  him  through 
his  palace  and  showed  him  his  country  seats.  "  You  Imvo 
everything  in  the  world  that  the  heart  can  desire,"  said  Mr. 
Brown.  "  Yes,"  replied  the  Prince,  "  but  the  Emperor 
requires  the  wOiole  of  my  income  to  be  spent  in  France." 

The  Prince  and  Caroline  had  three  sons,  Joseph  Joachim 
Napoleon,  Achille  and  Lucien.  The  eldest  entered  the 
army,  served  in  Algeria,  the  Crimean,  Italian  and  Prussian 
wars,  and  was  in  1866  promoted  to  a  colonelcy.  In  1872, 
he  obtained  leave  to  serve  four  years  in  the  Swedish  arniy.t 
They  had  two  daughters.  Caroline  married  the  Baron  de 
Chasseron,  and  Anna  the  Duke  de  Mouchy.  An  infant  lies 
buried  in  the  grounds  of  Christ  Church,  Bordentown,  whose 
grave  is  marked  with  a  headstone,  upon  which  is  cut, 
"  Murat,  December  20th,  1844."  Near  by  is  the  grave  of 
"  Eliza  Smith  Eraser,  April  6th,  1847."     All  the  Eraser  sis- 


t  The  "American  Cyclopcedia,"  vol.  XII,  pages  49  and  50. 


114  THE  MURATS. 

ters  living  at  the  time,  accompanied  Madame  Murat  to 
France,  where  they  remained,  Miss  Jane  being  the  only  one 
now  living.  Madame  Murat  never  forgot  the  friends  of 
her  youth,  or  the  bright  gleams  and  shadows  of  Bordentown. 
She  constantly  corresponded  with  Mrs.  Lathrop,  of  Boston, 
the  widow  of  the  late  Rev.  John  P.  Lathrop,  rector  of 
Christ  Church,  Bordentown. 

Upon  the  fall  of  the  Empire  the  Prince's  incomes  were 
cut  off,  and  he  found  himself  reduced  to  the  necessity  of 
subsisting  on  the  paltry  sum  of  $200,000.  It  was  prepos- 
terous for  Murat  to  expect  to  live  on  the  interest,  so  he 
proceeded  diligently  to  spend  the  principal.  In  this  laud- 
able undertaking  for  a  gentleman  of  seventy-four,  he  was, 
alas !  interrupted.  His  good  wife,  the  guardian  angel  of 
his  life,  seeing  that  years  had  not  brought  discretion,  was 
forced,  to  save  them  from  want,  to  apply  to  the  courts  for  a 
separation  of  estate.  The  following,  taken  from  a  late  num- 
ber of  the  "Boston  Advertiser,"  we  know  from  good 
authority  to  be  correct : 

"  Princess  Lucien  Murat  has  brought  suit  for  separation 
of  estate  from  her  husband,  she  styling  herself  Princess 
Murat  (by  birth  Caroline  Georgina  Fraser),  and  her  hus- 
band Prince  Napoleon  Francois  Lucien  Charles  Murat. 
His  spendthrift  habits  make  this  measure  necessary,  now 
that  he  can  no  longer  repair  to  the  Emperor's  private  purse. 
She  wishes  to  save  a  portion  of  the  estate  given  them  by 
Napoleon  III.  Her  husband  has  run  through  his  father's 
estate,  which  was  large.  He  has  run  through  her  estate, 
which  was  considerable.  The  Emperor  gave  him  |200,000 
after  the  coujp  d'etat^  and  made  him  a  senator,  with  $6,000 
a  year,  and  three  times  paid  his  debts." 

The  Princess  succeeded  in  her  suit,  and  once  more  they 
lived  happily  together.  A  very  large  fortune  belonging  to 
his  father  was  confiscated  after  the  fall  of  the  first  empire, 
but  was  restored  upon  the  advent  of  Louis  Napoleon.     The 


THE  MURATS.  115 

Prince  died  in  April,  1878,  and  his  wife  soon  afterwards. 
The  extraordinary  vicissitudes  that  have  marked  the  history 
of  Murat,  his  marvelous  restoration  to  fortune  in  France, 
and  his  reverses,  seem  "  stranger  than  fiction  "  to  people  of 
Bordentown,  who  knew  him  so  well. 

Prince  Murat's  sisters  both  married  Italian  noblemen. 
Laetitia  Josephine  became  Countess  Pepoli,  and  Louise 
Julie  Caroline,  Countess  Rasponi.  His  brother,  Napoleon 
Achille,  came  to  America  in  1821,  and  found  a  home  and  a 
wife,  with  slaves  and  a  plantation,  near  Tallahassee,  Florida. 
His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Byrd  Willis,  Esq.,  Naval  Agent, 
Pensacola,  and  grand-niece  of  Washington.  He  seems  to 
have  enjoyed  his  adopted  country  with  the  zest  of  a  sports- 
man and  the  adventurous  spirit  of  his  race,  and  to  have 
easily  reconciled  himself  to  the  incongruities  of  such  a  lot. 
He  devoted  much  of  his  time  to  scientific  pursuits,  and 
wrote  essays  on  the  institutions  of  the  country.  When  an 
honorary  colonel  in  the  Belgian  army,  he  presented  to  a 
comrade  the  manuscript.  After  his  death  it  was  translated 
and  published.  The  English  edition  was  entitled  "  Murat's 
(Achille)  Moral  and  Political  Sketch  of  the  United  States 
of  America,"  8  vo.,  London,  1833.  The  American,  "Amer- 
ica and  the  Americans,"  by  the  late  Achille  Murat,  New 
York,  1849.*  He  received  the  appointment  of  aid-de- 
camp, with  the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel  to  the  Governor 
of  Florida,  and  served  with  the  volunteers  of  that  state  in 
the  Seminole  war,  and  died  in  1847,  on  his  estate,  near  Tal- 
lahassee. 

Madame  Murat's  twin  brother,  William  Fraser,  was  well 
known  to  the  citizens  of  Bordentown.  He  married,  in 
1840,  a  Miss  Frances  Brown,  of  Hunterdon  county.  New 
Jersey,  who  bore  him  six  children.  Of  these,  Thomas  was 
killed  in  the  late  war  for  the  Union.  Frank  Lucien  mar- 
ried Miss  Christiana  Bates.     Caroline  G.  married  Charles 

*  Tackerman'8  "America  and  Her  Commentators,"  New  York,  1864,  page  123. 


116  THE  MUM  ATS. 

M.  Nye,  son  of  the  late  ex-Governor  and  ex-United  States 
Senator  Charles  N^ye,  of  Nevada  Martha  Jane  married 
George  Wilson.  Gulianna  married  Joseph  Daniels.  They 
all  reside,  as  does  their  mother,  in  Washington,  D.  C, 
where  their  father,  dying  September  30th,  1870,  was  buried 
in  Mount  Olive  Cemetery.  Mr.  Nye  (popularly  known  as 
"Charley  Nye")  is  exceedingly  popular  in  the  Capital  as  an 
active  temperance  reformer  and  member  of  church. 


NEW  BQQIiS  millT  SEADV  M  IBS  mil, 


The  Old  Families  of  Burling- 
ton County,  New  Jersey. 

By  E.  M.  WOODWARD. 

A  series  of  interesting  sketches  of  sixty-three  families,  Kiving  their  founders  in 
America,  whi-re  tiiey  came  from  in  Englnnd,  the  vessel  they  arrived  in,  whi-re 
they  settled,  what  lands  they  located,  who  their  descendants  were  for  many  gene- 
rations, who  of  them  served  in  the  Revolutionary  Armies,  etc.,  etc..  etc.  Full 
index.  Facts  collected  from  the  Chesterfield  (Crosswicks)  Monthly  Meeting  and 
the  Township  Records,  Deeds,  Wills,  Family  Records,  etc.,  etc. 


THE  FOLLOWING 

ARE  THE   NAMES 

;  OF  THE  FAMILIES: 

Abbott, 

Davenport, 

Horner, 

Quicksall, 

Tan turn, 

Allen, 

Deacon, 

Howard, 

Reckless, 

Thorn, 

Arney, 

Decow, 

Hutchinson, 

Ridgway, 

Tilton, 

Bellangee, 

,    Emley, 

Ivins, 

Robbins, 

Warren, 

Biddle, 

Field, 

Kirkbride, 

Rockhill, 

Watson, 

Biles, 

Forsyth, 

Kirby, 

Rogers, 

Wills, 

Black, 

Foulks, 

Lawrie, 

Satterthwaite, 

Wilson, 

Brown, 

Fowler, 

Lambert, 

Schooley, 

Wood, 

Bullock, 

French, 

Matlack, 

Shreve, 

Woodward, 

Bunting, 

Gardiner, 

Montgomery, 

Stacy, 

Woolman, 

Burr, 

Gauntt, 

Newbold, 

Steward, 

Wright. 

Burnett, 

Hance, 

Norcross, 

Stokes, 

Curtis, 

Harrison, 

Pearson, 

Sykes, 

Most  of  the  above  families  are  given  in  full. 

About  300  pages,  large  type,  heavy  tinted  paper,  substantially  bound 
in  board  and  cloth.     Price,  $3.00.    Send  for  Circular. 


Bordentown  and  the  Surround- 
ing Country. 

By  E.  M.  WOODWARD. 

k  complete  narrative  of  the  Landing,  Hamlet,  Village,  Town  and  City,  from  the  location 
of  itH  site  in  1G81  to  the  present  time;  with  valuable  sketches  of  the  lives  of 
Joseph  Borden,  Judgr  Joseph  Borden,  Captain  Joseph  Borden,  Francis  Hopkin- 
son.  Judge  Joseph  Hopkinson,  Colonel  Kirkbride,  Thomas  Paine,  Admiral  Stewart, 
and  other  distinguished  residents  of  the  town.  A  complete  list  of  all  the  Town- 
ship Officers  to  present  day,  etc.,  etc.,  etc.    Full  index. 


Same  type,  paper,  and  binding  as  the  above. 
Price,  $3.00.     Send  for  Circular. 


About  470  pages. 
[over. 


The  History  of  the  3d  Reg. 
Pennsylvania  Reserves. 

By  MAJ.  E.  M.  WOODWARD. 

Embellished  with  three  finely-executed  steel  portraits. 

Same  type,  paper,  and  binding  as  the  above.     About  250  pages. 
Price,  $2.50. 


The  History  of  the  198th  Reg. 
Pennsylvania  Volunteers. 

By  MAJ.  E.  M.  WOODWARD. 

Embellished  with  three  finely-executed  steel  portraits. 

Same  type,  paper,  and  binding  as  the  above.     About  250  pages. 
Price,  $2.50. 

These  Regiments  were  raised  by  Maj.  Gen.  H.  G.  Siekel,  and  composed  part  of  his 
command.  Their  services  jointly  covered  the  period  of  the  existence  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  from  Dranesville  to  Appomattox  Court  House.  A  correct 
and  vivid  description  is  given  of  their  camps,  marches,  bivouacs  and  battles,  and 
of  the  hardships,  joys  and  glories  of  the  tented  field.  Many  amusing  incidents 
and  anecdotes,  iilnstrative  of  the  life  and  feelings  of  a  soldier,  are  given.  Com- 
plete Rosters  and  Muster  Rolls,  and  lists  of  the  killed  and  wounded  of  each  battle 
are  added.    Full  index. 


JJ®°Great  pains  and  labor  have  been  taken  in  the  preparation  of 
all  these  volumes.  They  are  endoi'sed  by  well-known  gentlemen  of 
high  literary  ability,  and  officers  of  the  commands. 

B@"Subscribers  to  the  same  will  be  notified  when  they  are  ready 
for  issue,  and  upon  the  receipt  of  the  price,  they  will  be  mailed  free  to 
any  address. 

jg^KJommunications  should  be  addressed  to 

E.  M.  WOODWARD, 

BLLISDALB,  Monmouth  Co.,  New  Jersey. 


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